Fair Work Commission and Mining Industry

This assignment requires an examination of the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) policies and procedures related to the mining industry. The FWC has been involved in several high-profile cases, including the Oaky Creek mine dispute, where workers were locked out and not provided with a fair means of livelihood. The commission must ensure that its policies are flexible enough to accommodate the needs of miners who have been on strike for an extended period. A proper inspection process should be established to verify whether victims are being benefited or not. The assignment also highlights the importance of establishing employment opportunities to make the workforce self-sufficient and providing temporary means of livelihood during strikes or lockouts.

Running head: Human Resource Management
Human Resource Management and Employment Relation
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Write a brief overview of the dispute.
There has been a dispute in the Oaky Creek Coal PTY. LTD. for many years. The miners
do not really like the decision that has been taken by the Glencore. They claim that earlier they
had a very strong union and they are really at their freedom however now they no longer have
the freedom of working in their office with the same freedom that they used to enjoy earlier. The
main say of the miners working at the Cole mines at the Oaky Creek is that they had a very
strong union and they knew that the union was very powerful and would help them throughout
but with the intervention of the Glencore, the situation has suffered a huge change and the
change is not like by the workers of Oaky Creek. The coal miners are not very happy with the
compensation that they receive or the kinds of roasters that have been set up. With the union,
they had their say and hey could enjoy a flexible work-life balance. However, now it has become
very difficult for them. As per their opinion, Glencore will never give them any permanent
workforce. Glencore is also making the workers work for overnight shifts without giving them
sufficient amount of compensation for the same. The working hours of the mine are about 24
hours a day that is equivalent to 7 days a week (Salminen, 2016). They had a deal with the
Glencore but as per their opinions, Glencore did not listen to their request for granting them a
new enterprise agreement. All the workers of the CFMEU are work under the Glencore group of
companies. All these employees were covered under the Oaky Creek North Mine Enterprise
Agreement 2012. However, after the expiry of this agreement, the miners demanded a new
agreement but they are being rejected constantly. The Glencore wanted to make the workers all
day and night even after their shifts were over (Glencore.com 2018). For Glencore, it is only about

3HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
profit maximization. They want to somehow maximize their profits by making the workers work
for a very long night with a light cap on their head (McIvor & Johnston, 2016). The miners do
not really want to work at night as there are the dangers. Apart from these, there are long periods
of lockouts when the workers have to stay without their job and without their wags for such a
long time. The workers have been demanding for the formation of a new agreement with the
Glencore but their plea has been always neglected (CFMEU, MUA & TCFUA proposed
amalgamation, 2018).
What are the issues in dispute for Oaky Creek Coal Pty Ltd?
The main issues in the Oaky Creek Coal Pty. Ltd. are that the workers are not really
happy with the ways in which Glencore is operating here. They are of the opinion that they have
lost their freedom of work and the unity of their union. They feel that Glencore does not really
want to accept the emergence a d the working of a new and a permanent workforce. They
wantthe the Glencore must think about the happiness of the workers. Earlier the workers could
wear their uniforms and enter the office at ease but now with the arrival of the Glencore, they are
being banned from even using their uniforms. They also not have any say about their shift
timings. As per the opinions of the miners, they are being made to work for really very long
hours without the getting proper breaks. Each and every building in the Oaky Creek is under the
ownership of the Glencore. So, they could easily make an increase in the price of the buildings or
even the transportation and make the miners pay a huge price for getting even the minimum
amount of services (Glencore workers fight for a fair go, 2018). There are many miners who live
in the local regions of the Oaky Creek district. On the other hand, there are also many workers
who follow the policy of fly in and fly out in the coal mining area. In both the scenarios the

4HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
miners have to pay a certain price (Hansard Display – Parliament of Australia., 2018). However
as the buildings and the vehicles including all the other facilities in the Oaky Creek region are
under the ownership of the Glencore, they can find out ways of extracting more money from the
people. The CMFEU members or the miners are of the opinion that the Glencore makes them
work even at night with their light caps on ignoring the fact that there can be the breakage of the
rooftop or even the severe attack to any of the workers due to the harmful gases. Glencore
basically wants to remove each and every bit of the union brandings that might be present in
their area. Not only did they keep many of the workers suspended from their work for a long
time but has also made them remove their union shirts before entering the coal mines. Apart
from this, the safety and medical facilities of the Oaky Creek coal mine was also very poor
(Bishop & Cassidy, 2017). There were several deaths that have taken place in the years 2014 to
2015 and the workers were still made to go to work without even getting their x rays done or
before getting the proper kinds of treatment for the injuries. They even tried the obstruct one of
their union representatives to arrange for an appointment with the doctors. It is for this reason
that the coal miners have stated many picket lines and have been raising revolting slogans for
days. They are carrying on their protests each and every day in this hope that some measures will
be taken that will be helping them o get back their rights and their freedoms as well (Home -
Home | Glencore Australia., 2018).
What are the issues in dispute for the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union
The main issues that are seen in the dispute for the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and
Energy Union are the inconveniences that have happened in the voting system. In the year 2017,
in the month of June, there was an agreement that was about to be brought between the Glencore
company and the CFMEU workers of Oaky Creek. This agreement was done through the system

5HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
of voting that was to be conducted through the system of secret Ballot (Bray & Power., 2017).
There were some disputes in the calculations that were done by the Glencore Company. The
calculation was inappropriate because not all the employees could get the benefit the coverage of
the plan. So, not all the members were shown as eligible to join the Ballot. As per the opinion of
the employees, the total number of people who voted ere 191 but the actual number of
employees that the company actually recruits in the production and the engineering departments
is less. The only highlighting thing that came out from this voting system is the fact that only two
of the CMFEU members among all had voted in favor of the agreement (Allen & Landau, 2018).
This showed that there was a huge distaste among the workers regarding the plan and policies
that were being implemented by the miners of the coal workers. After the result of the voting
system was out, the company called back the stoppage or the lockout of the workers from their
working hours for a long time ([2017] FWC 5380, 2018). The workers were called back and
were asked to join their respective positions again. On 15 and 16th of July those workers were
called back and were asked to join their shifts at the normal commencement of their working
hours but they were not really greeted in the same manner as they were done in the beginning.
However, the great blow to them came when they saw that their swipe cards did not operate.
They could not gain entry to the mine as they used to do earlier (Ravenswood & Kaine, 2015).
They were met at a different place at the entrance of the mine and then they were also asked to
get their union branded shirts removed before entering. This was very new to them and was also
very unexpected they had been wearing this same CFMEU branded shirts for all these days at
their workplace and they were being asked to remove these shirts before entering into the mine.
Not only this, they were also warned that they would not be able to put on these same shirts
again. After this, they were asked to attend a meeting where they were briefed about the new

6HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
employment terms and policies that were set by the company. These policies included equal
employment opportunity, social media performance and conduct and many other such policies.
Followed by this, then the employees actually returned back to the works, they were treated as
surplus and were sent back. However, they were also given the payment for those days. The
same thing also happened on the next day that is on 16th of July. Workers coming to work were
sent back home saying that that was surplus and were also asked to remove their CFMEU
branded t-shirts. They were also being issued letters of misconduct that showed that they had
shown severe misconduct while carrying their revolts in the strikes or in the picket lines. These
were shown as the severe breach of the Glencore policies
What steps has the Fair Work Commission taken to resolve this industrial dispute? How
effective has the Commission been? Justify your answer.
The intervention of the Fair Works act has been moderately helpful for this issue. The
CMEFU members are of the opinion that they have been subjected to huge tension and tortures
for all these days. They have also been kept at a lockout from their work in their own area for a
long time of about 200 days. Even after this, the span of this lockout has been extended. The
members are also of the opinion that Glencore has never accepted the solutions that have been
given by the Fair works commission before this, so why would they listen to the solutions that
are being given by them. As this issue is not really a very big issue and has never really got the
preference of media so the Fair works will not be able to provide any significant solution.
However, the Fair work acts have been successful in asking the Glencore Company to suspend
the lockout or the stoppage at which the workers were kept for so many days. The lockout for
about 175 miners must be suspended. The fair works policy wants to put an end to this dispute

7HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
that is being carried on for such a long time. FWO has also asked the Glencore head to find out a
fair resolution for dealing with the lockout (Giesen, 2014). There must be fair dignity and fair
policies that will be needed for the purpose of solving this dispute. At the same time, they asked
the Glencore Company to stop the video surveillance or the films that they were making based
on the families of the Oaky Creek. However, the Glencore are of the opinion that the CFMEU
members are taking the undue advantage of the FWA and trying to justify the national bullying.
The commission has been successful to some extent. They have been able to make Glencore call
back the lockout that they had started. The miners have started going back to their work at their
shift times. However, there must have been a solution right from the ground level that would
have provided an all-around solution so that the miners are not suffering anymore.
Should the Fair Work Commission have greater powers to intervene in this type of
protracted industrial dispute? Justify your answer.
Fair works commission must be brought into these kinds of protracted industrial disputes
because they are such an organization that helps in making the relations in the workplaces act
properly. They mainly target at making the workplace a healthy and a very productive place. It
aims at providing equal opportunities and social justice for all the workers working in any of the
organization. It is for this reason that they demanded the Glencore to take back the suspension or
the lockout that they had imposed on the workers (CFMEU Mining & Energy., 2018). They also
have the charge of checking and governing if there had been any breaches of the work policies. It
is for this reason that has asked the Glencore to hand them over all the screenshots and the videos
that they had made which would prove as testimony to the breach of the work policies made by
the CFMEU workers. This would help them to see whether the means in which the protest had

8HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
taken place was justified or not (Kumar et al., 2016). This will help them in educating and
training the people of Australia in general and that of the Oaky Creek, in particular, to know that
they must revolt but in a just way. They have considered the plight of the workers and have tried
their best to make sure that the lockout is being removed. They demanded the Glencore to
withdraw their decision of keeping the workers at a lockout in their own residents for a period of
about 200 days. However, they must try and keep a process of following up after implementing
any particular policy or rule. This will help them to know if the company is abiding by each and
every rule that had been imposed by them (Oaky North mine worker lockout., 2018).
Make recommendations to the President of the Fair Work Commission.
The president of the FWA has to make sure that the issue is being governed right from
the grass root level. They must end the officials who would be meeting with the residents of the
Oaky Creek and will be assessing the issue from the day it started. They must actually visit each
and every resident personally and then try to know about the grievances that they have been
through. They must provide full compensation to all those workers who have been staying on the
lookout for such a long time. The policies that are to be included under the FWO, must be very
flexible. The commission must start and after implementation follows up a process that will help
in carrying out a proper inspection. This inspection process will mainly aim at seeing if the
victims are actually being benefitted or not. For an instance, even after the implementation of the
policy at the Oaky Creek that the workers must be called back to resume their work with desired
pay and in the good healthy work environment, there were several problems. The miners were
not greeted in the normal manner that they were used to earlier. They were not only asked to take
off their union branded t-shirts but also were sent back home saying that they were surplus at the

9HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
work. They must also aim at establishing some employment opportunities that will help in
making the workforce self-sufficient. They have to make sure that if there are any such strikes or
lockouts being carried on then, the workers get at least some temporary means of livelihood.

10HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
References
Allen, D., & Landau, I. (2018). Major court and tribunal decisions in Australia in 2017. Journal
of Industrial Relations, 0022185618759746.
Bishop, J., & Cassidy, N. (2017). Insights into Low Wage Growth in Australia. RBA Bulletin,
March, 13-20.
Black, D. J. (2018). CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF OUTBURST IN AUSTRALIAN
UNDERGROUND COAL MINES. Research Online, 246.
Bray, A., & Power, C. (2017). The fair work commission's' new approach'. Precedent (Sydney,
NSW), (141), 27.
CFMEU Mining & Energy. (2018). Me.cfmeu.org.au.
CFMEU, MUA & TCFUA proposed amalgamation. (2018). FWC Main Site.
Giesen, C. A. (2014). Coal miners' wives: Portraits of endurance. University Press of Kentucky.
Glencore workers fight for a fair go. (2018). CFMEU Mining and Energy.
Glencore.com 2018. Glencore. Available from http://www.glencore.com/ Accessed on 6 May
2018.
Hansard Display – Parliament of Australia. (2018). Aph.gov.au.
Home - Home | Glencore Australia. (2018). Glencore.com.au.

11HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Kumar, G., Sinha, B. K., & Singh, S. K. (2016). Risk Assessment and Disaster Management Plan
in Chasnala Coal Mine. Int J of Science Tech & Engg, 2(9), 101-106.
McIvor, A., & Johnston, R. (2016). Miners' lung: a history of dust disease in British coal mining.
Routledge.
Oaky North mine worker lockout. (2018). Statements.qld.gov.au.
Ravenswood, K., & Kaine, S. (2015). The role of government in influencing labour conditions
through the procurement of services: Some political challenges. Journal of Industrial
Relations, 57(4), 544-562.
Ravenswood, K., & Kaine, S. (2015). The role of government in influencing labour conditions
through the procurement of services: Some political challenges. Journal of Industrial
Relations, 57(4), 544-562.
Salminen, S. (2016). Long working hours and shift work as risk factors for occupational
injury. The Ergonomics Open Journal, 9(1).
Smith, K. (2017). Oaky north miners locked out. Green Left Weekly, (1149), 4.
Stewart, A., Bray, M., Macneil, J., & Oxenbridge, S. (2014). 'Promoting cooperative and
productive workplace relations': exploring the Fair Work Commission's new role.