THREE-hundred and eighty-eight workers at Muswellbrook’s Mount Pleasant coal mine have been sacked just days before Christmas.
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Mine owner Mach Energy announced it was terminating the Calibre-DRA Global joint venture (CDJV), affecting 170 direct employees and 218 sub-contract workers.
The construction arm of the joint venture, G&S Engineering, was awarded a $149 million contract in March last year to design and build a coal-handling plant and rail-loading facility at the mine.
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) organiser Mark Cross said the G&S Engineering workers and sub-contractors had been blindsided by the decision and that it was “uncalled for this close to Christmas”.
“The workers should have been retained as the workforce for whoever Mach Energy brings on board to complete the project,” he said.
He added the CFMEU and officials from the ETU and AMWU had spoken with the CDJV management and had received assurances the workers would be paid out their full entitlements including redundancy payments.
Mr Cross said the project had been plagued with safety issues that had culminated in a three-day safety stoppage after a worker was seriously injured and the company had failed to move on issues such as a lack of first-aid and safety systems.
“While this is about the worst news any worker could get just days out from Christmas, the union is grateful that no worker has been killed on this project,” he said.
