Business Report: Analysis of Oaky Creek Coal Employment Dispute

This business report analyzes the industrial dispute between Glencore Oaky Creek Coal Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), focusing on the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) involvement. The report, addressed to the FWC President, details the background of both organizations, the causes of the dispute, including issues surrounding working hours, fatigue management, and the use of casual workers. It examines the workers' strike, the role of the FWC in mediation, and the effectiveness of their interventions. The report highlights the key issues, the impact of the dispute, and the challenges faced by both parties, including the workers' concerns about job security and working conditions. The report concludes with recommendations for resolving the dispute and ensuring a fair working environment. The report also mentions the strike of the workers and the issues which caused it, which has created a hysteria within the organization.

Running head: EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
Employment Relations
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Abstract
The purpose of this business report is to analyze the dispute between the Glencore Oaky Creek
and Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. The Fair Work Commission has been
very active in the resolution of this issue very actively. This report will be addressed to the
President of the FWC about the current situation in this dispute. The recommendations have been
given on how they could take the better steps to solve these disputes. The issues have been
discussed in details and the effectiveness of the FWC has been evaluated. The most important
issues have been discussed and the causes for the dispute have been outlined.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Brief Overview of the organization.................................................................................................3
Oaky Creek Coal Pty ltd..............................................................................................................3
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.....................................................................4
The industrial dispute between the companies............................................................................4
The strike of the workers.................................................................................................................7
The role of the Fair Work Commission...........................................................................................8
Effectiveness of the role of Fair Work Commission.......................................................................9
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
The focus of this report will be on the employment relations. The report will be dedicated
to the President of the Fair Work Commission of Australia. The topic of the report will be on the
industrial dispute between the Oaky Creek Coal Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining
and Energy Union in the year 2017 and 2018. This has been a very important issue in the
Australian context and it was the responsibility of the Fair Work Commission to interfere in the
entire matter and make a remedy to that. This is why this report will be presented to the President
to outline the actual things that happened in the region. The industrial disputes have been very
much problematic for the growth of the mining industry. In order to investigate into the issue
more, the background of the organizations should be discussed and the reasons for the disputes
should be assessed as well. The main things should be highlighted regarding this issue. The
causes for the dispute are very important and these issues should be sorted properly in this
context as well. The interference of the Fair Work Commission has been very important for the
mitigation of this dispute and their roles will be evaluated in this paper as well.
Brief Overview of the organization
Oaky Creek Coal Pty ltd
The oaky Creek Coal Pty Ltd is a coal mine located at Central Queensland in Australia.
They are liable for producing the coking coal (Glencore.com.au 2018) They have two
underground operations along with a coal preparation plant. This organization produces the two
premium quality, medium volatile coking coals. They are one of the best coking coal producing
companies in the world. There are 900 employees in the organization (Glencore.com.au 2018).

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Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
This organization is said and believed to be the principal trade union in construction in
Australia(Cfmmeu.org.au 2018). This organization has an affiliation with the Australian Council
of the Trade Unions, Australian Labor Party and World Federation of Trade Unions. There are
around 400 full time employees and the officials. This organization was being founded in the
year 1992. The national secretary of the organization is the Michael O’Connor (Cfmmeu.org.au
2018)
The industrial dispute between the companies
The two organizations in the focus of this paper had a great dispute between them. It has
been a notable fact that the Oaky Creek Coal Pty ltd has operated in the coal mining industry at
Tieri in the Central Queensland (Morrice and Colagiuri 2013). The dispute occurred when the
workers of some of the departments of the mine went on a strike of 48 hours. This had
completely halted the operations of the Oaky Creek Coal Pty Ltd. They have been abiding by the
Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 properly for a number of years. The safety and health
management system adopted by the Oaky Creek had indeed been very efficient. The Fatigue
Management Policy had been in the centre of discussion in this issue (Lerman et al. 2012). This
policy was about the working hours in the coal mine, breaks, rotation in the workforce and other
things that are interesting about the fatigue management. However, the issues came in this
context that the workers had to work for the 12 hour shifts (Hülsheger et al. 2013). These shifts
had only two breaks and the breaks were only of half an hour after working for 5 hours and 9.5
hours respectively.
The ‘long wall’ had been their most elusive areas for production. Yet they did not receive
the production of coal as they expected or up to their budgets (Hossain et al. 2013). This is why

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the situation began to deteriorate. The experts had thought that this occurred due to overwork
among the employees. This is why the working hours had been diminished from 12 to 10 hours.
However, the two half an hour breaks in the organization remained to be consistent. However,
the duration of the shift had been shortened to 9.5 hours with only one break of half an hour.
However, the situation arose that the workers had been somewhat affected and the organization
needed to handle this difficulty with much effectiveness (Mundry, Gajetzki and Hoseinie 2015).
The Union and the Oaky Creek came to a decision that this policy had been creating the
difficulties in the working of the company.
However, the situation occurred that the Oaky Creek had provided an overall review of
the Fatigue Management Policy. The situation turned out that the Oaky Creek wanted a cross-
section of the employees so they could arrange for a risk assessment program on the fatigue
management of the organization. The coal mine of Oaky Creek Coal Pty ltd had come to a halt. It
is because the workers went on a long strike as the working conditions did not meet their
requirements. They have not worked for almost six months (Van Dongen and Belenky 2012).
The underground miner of the organization said that it was indeed very hard to being locked out
of the work. They have also said that they did not want to be in that condition but indeed they
had to be in this condition to get their rights (Hancock 2012). The workers had to go out of work
because of the continuous strikes by some sections of the workers. The dispute had been gone
through the mediation process by the fair Work Commission of Australia. The voting process
had been run down in the latest Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).
It has to be kept in mind that the organization had been using the part time contractors to
keep their production work moving. The workers on strike were not paid by the organization.
However, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union had been paying the locked workers

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a subsidy wage. The locked out workers had been on the picket line outside the mine for a long
time. The Fair Work Commission has been trying to negotiate the issues very carefully since the
proposed 2018 agreement has been trying to convince the workers that they should accept this
agreement with all the amendments done (Fwc.gov.au 2018). If they reject it this time also the
outcome will not be that good. Some of their workers had said that his vote was against the
agreement since he was very much concerned about the fact that the company was trying to gain
the union representation in the company and trying to make their workforce very casual. This is
why the production levels of the organization would surely decrease (Toossi 2012). The
representative of the company also had said that the company had never taken the opinion or
recommendations of the Fair Work commissioner. So they are not ready to accept the proposal as
well. Another issue was found out in this context was the increase in the number of the casual
and contractual workers. This had been very risky for the full time workers. The job security was
at a great risk indeed (De Bruecker et al. 2015).
The workers had said if the number of the casual workers increased, it would be highly
risky. However, most of the organizations are trying to appoint the part time or contractual
workers so they can get rid of them whenever they will not need them. This practice among the
workers has been very detrimental for the industry. Through this business report, it is conveyed
to the President of the fair Work Commission that the officials should put much stress on
securing the positions of the full time workers. This would really be highly beneficial for the
company (Othman, Bhuiyan and Gouw 2012). The workers standing on the picket line has been
using very foul language and even threatening the officials of the company as well. The
relationship between the Oaky Creek and Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
began to deteriorate much when the Oaky Creek Company had alleged their workers of the ‘in

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principle’ position that was related with the leaders of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and
Energy Union. However, one of the most important things in the organization will be the
interference of the Fair Work Commission (Fwc.gov.au 2018) The experts have said that the Fair
Work Commission does not have the proper power to impose any solution. This lock out of the
Oaky Creek has been considered as the longest lock out in the history of the Australian mining
industry. The workers wanted the proper working environment and they did not get it after
repeated attempts. This was the main reason behind their enragemen (Bice 2013).
One issue has been raised in this context that the national economy of Australia has not
been greatly affected by this lockout incident. This has not harmed the public welfare as well.
This is why Fair Work Commission has very limited rights to interfere into this matter and
impose any solution by force (Wesso 2013). The legal steps have been taken in a large way but
the situation has become so complex that the mediation process has not been able to solve the
disputes. Still the economy of the country should have been greatly affected as well along with
the societal norms (Azzellini 2015). The pressure on the workers has been mounting-be it
psychological or physical. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union have been
helping the workers immensely by paying them the subsidy wage. This is why they have been
furious on the Oaky Creek Company.
The strike of the workers
One of the most interesting facts in this context is the strike of the workers of the Oaky
Creek Coal Pty Ltd. The trade unions of the mining industry have also arranged the rallies in
support of the striking workers of the organization. The rally has been initiated for the Australian
Council for Trade Unions and Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. The members

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of these organizations have been striking for several issues like the working environment,
working hours, payment issues and others. The less security issues and increasing the security
costs have been the main agenda in this section as well (Winzer 2012). The unfair agreement
proposed by the Fair Work Commission has been the main reason for their enragement. The
workers of the Oaky Creek in Glencore have declared that this has created a hysteria within the
organization as the entire workforce has been suffering from great uncertainty. This is the reason
as to why the families of the workers have been affected by the situation.
The role of the Fair Work Commission
As this business report will be addressed to the President of the Fair Work Commission
in Australia, the most important issue in this context will be the role of the Fair Work
Commission in solving the dispute between the Oaky Creek Coal Pty ltd and Construction,
Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. As this has been the longest lock out in the history of
Australia, the organization will look to impose some remedies for the situation. The
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union have gone against the threatening behavior of
the Oaky Creek (Fwc.gov.au 2018). This is the third time that the workers have constantly
rejected the offers set by the EBA. The issues that have been in the focus for these offers are the
retrenchment of the workers, all the processes that have led to the disputes, hiring the workers in
a casual manner and representing the workplace in a better way. Glencore has been altering the
rosters of the workers without even consulting. This has led to a huge dissatisfaction among the
workers.
The Fair Work Commission has been interfering in this situation and they have proposed
the new guidelines for the year 2018. However, the new guidelines have been rejected by the

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workers as well. They are in demand of paying their wages properly according to the industry
standards. The working conditions and the wage issues have been highlighted as well. It is an
important thing that the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union have not put any
industrial action among all the 19000 workers they have across the coal and mining industry
(Fwc.gov.au 2018) This has been very important to notice that the workers are enraged at these
arrangements by the Glencore Oaky Creek. The anti-strike provisions of the Fair Work
legislations have been properly made into effect by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and
Energy Union. The Fair Work legislations have the power to isolate all the miners and provide
the best working environment for the workers as per the demands (Korzynski 2013).
The Fair Work Commission has embedded certain issues in this context and proposed to
implement the new ideas for the mitigation of this issue (Fwc.gov.au 2018) The proposed
agreement between the workers and the company Oaky Creek has not been accepted by the
workers properly. The crisis going on needs to be mitigated very immediately. The ministers
have said that the disputes have to be resolved indeed. If the permanent solution does not occur it
will be very much disappointing from the perspective of the organization and the families of the
workers as well. The honorable minister Craig Laundy has met with the representatives of both
the parties of Glencore oaky Creek and Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(Fwc.gov.au 2018) He has also urged his colleagues to play a vital role in mitigating the
problems properly.
Effectiveness of the role of Fair Work Commission
He also said that he had been very concerned about the results of the disputes and the
picket line that it had on all the workers. The internal and external impacts have been so severe

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indeed. The families and the local communities have been affected very badly as well. The Fair
Work Commission had ordered the lockout to be completely suspended. The lockout had to be
suspended for three weeks that would begin on 7th of March. The new Enterprise Agreement will
be drawn up for the employees to vote on. He wants all the mining workers to return to work the
general operations in the mines to start again. This will be the best option for the mining industry
and the families of the workers as well. These issues will have to be kept in mind and dealt with
proper efficiency. Thus the Fair Work Commission has been playing a very important role in
the ending the disputes in all the industries (Fwc.gov.au 2018) However, the Construction,
Forestry, Mining and Energy Union have encouraged for the payment of the employees. While
the workers have yet not agreed to resume their works, the Fair Work Commission will try to
mitigate these issues. The workers want to get rid of the issues of insecurity in the work and
appointing the casual employees at random. The Fair Work Commission has urged both the
parties to set all the differences aside regarding politics and request the Glencore Oaky Creek
and Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union to resume their operations.
Recommendations
The Fair Work Commission has taken up the issue in their hands and they want this
problem to be solved very fast. However, some experts have opined that they have very little
rights to interfere in this issue. It has to be said that the Fair Work Commission is the regulating
authority in this matter and they do have the rights to take the final decisions in this matter. The
workers want the best working environment and the payments in the industry. They want the
operations of the organization to be conducted very smoothly. The Fair Work Commission had
very quickly suspended the lockout. This is why many workers had rejected this completely. The
EBA had been rejected by the workers (Fwc.gov.au 2018) It can be recommended that a need for

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change is very much inevitable indeed. The workers in the Oaky Creek will have to be banded
together and this will be very effective for stopping the cut in the wages (Glencore.com.au 2018)
These issues will have to be seen and the proper working environment should be established by
maintain the fatigue management policy. The health of the workers will have to be taken care of
as well. The President of FWC should keep in mind that they should not interfere into these
things by their own. If the disputes are not solved by trade unions, they can take the
responsibility of the resolving the disputes.
Conclusion
This paper can be concluded by saying that the disputes between the Oaky Creek and
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union have been very important as well. It will be
highly important for the workers to sort out the issues they have been facing and they would
need to implement the certain policies for the better outcomes. The working should resume for
the employees and they should take the suspension of the lockout by Fair Work Commission
very seriously. These issues will have to be kept in mind to sort out the dispute between the two
organizations.

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References
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Democracy. Zed Books Limited.
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remote Australian mining communities. Rural Society, 22(2), pp.138-152.
Cfmmeu.org.au (2018). Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union |. [online]
Cfmmeu.org.au. Available at: https://www.cfmmeu.org.au/ [Accessed 8 May 2018].
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planning incorporating skills: State of the art. European Journal of Operational
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Fwc.gov.au (2018). Fair Work Commission | Australia's national workplace relations tribunal.
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Queensland. Australasian Psychiatry, 21(1), pp.32-37.

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work: the role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job
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