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Issue No. 205 | 28 November 2003 |
Australia Deserves Better
Interview: Union for the Dispossessed Unions: Joel's Law National Focus: Spring Carnival Bad Boss: Fina and Fiends Industrial: The Price of War Economics: Who's Got What History: Containing Discontent Review: An Honourable Wally Poetry: The Colours of Discontent
Call Centre Throws Safety Out the Door Miners Tackle Million Dollar Sidestep ACT Rejects Manslaughter Bullying WorkCover Walks Away From Racetrack Contractors Scramble Foxtel Signal
The Soapbox Sport Politics Postcard
A Tale Of Three Cities
Labor Council of NSW |
News Miners Tackle Million Dollar Sidestep
Miners have put a national coal strike on hold while the NSW Government considers legislation to thwart the latest manouevre in a three-year Xstrata campaign to keep the deaths from legal scrutiny. CFMEU Mines division president, Tony Maher, is confident the Government will trump Xstrata's latest move to have 12 charges against Gretley Mine management dismissed because the wrong Minister, allegedly, authorised the prosecutions. It followed the filing of 16 interlocutory injunction in the space of three years. "We have had useful meetings with the Carr Government and expect retrospective legislation will be introduced, if necessary," Maher said. "We expect the issue will be resolved justly but the possibility of a stoppage still exists. The problem with these multi-national mining companies, when it comes to any concept of justice, is that their pockets are incredibly deep." It has been seven years since John Hunter, Damon Murray, Mark Kaiser and Edward Batahan lost their lives at Gretley and a spokesman for then owner, Oakridge Mining, promised to "co-operate fully" with all investigations. Since Oakridge was taken over by Xstrata, however, families of the miners have been frustrated by one legal manouevre after another in a bid to keep cases from being decided. The CFMEU estimates the company will have spend $5 million on lawyers by the time the Gretley case ends. But Maher says Gretley is just one example of safety standards, and accountability levels, miners find unacceptable. "The records show that employers pay $88.40 for every miner killed," Maher said. "Our communities and families say coal miners lives are worth a lot more than that." He based his maths on the fact that there have only been two successful prosecutions, bringing total fines of $221,000, in a state where more than 2000 coal miners have been killed on the job. NSW and Queensland are both in miners' sights. The union is demanding better protections in Queensland where mining companies are regularly handed OH&S exemptions and the industry is policed by persons who have to have been mine managers. Maher says there has never been an OH&S prosecution in Queensland, successful or otherwise, stemming from any of its more than 500 fatalities.
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