Peabody, a US-based coal giant, has extended the lockout of workers at the Helensburgh underground coal mine until 6 July, in response to a one-hour protected industrial action by the miners.
The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) is now urging the federal government to address workplace laws that permit such disproportionate employer actions against workers’ bargaining rights.
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Members of the MEU at Metropolitan Mine have been barred from work without pay by Peabody since 18 June.
The miners, who anticipated returning to work on Thursday, were informed on the preceding Wednesday evening of the extended lockout.
MEU South Western District president Bob Timbs said: “Peabody’s disproportionate response reveals a totally uneven playing field. Union members are required to hold a vote, reach a consensus on industrial action and notify employers in advance; employers are able to unilaterally lock out workers in response for as long as they want, denying the workers and their families an income.
“This is an important unfinished reform that we urge the government to address without delay, to fulfil their commitment to fair and genuine workplace bargaining.”
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By GlobalDataMatt Potter, a mineworker from Helensburgh and a delegate for the MEU, has asserted that the workers remain undeterred by Peabody’s tactics and will persist in their fight for fair wages and the protection of job security.
Potter said: “Peabody are posting hundreds of millions in profit for their shareholders, meanwhile we are the lowest-paid coal miners in the southern coalfields. We are simply asking for the retention of our long-standing job security clause and a pay rise to bring us in line with the other mines in the area.”
Recently, Peabody Energy expressed concerns regarding its intended purchase of Anglo American’s Tier 1 Australian steelmaking coal assets.
A material adverse change has been cited, connected to the inactive state of the Moranbah North coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin following a gas ignition event on 31 March 2025.
Peabody has indicated the possibility of withdrawing from the acquisition if the issues at the Moranbah North coal mine are not resolved within a set time frame.
