A win for casual workers

Casual coal miners have been granted fairer conditions under new legislation from the government.

The Protecting Worker Entitlements Bill was recently introduced to Parliament, which allows casual coal mining workers to accrue hours for long service leave.

The legislation will amend provisions in the Coal Long Service Leave Act that limit long service leave entitlements to a minimum of 35 hours per week.

According to the Mining and Energy Union’s general secretary, Grahame Kelly, casual miners often work compressed rosters, which means their working weeks are unpredictable and can include long hours one week and short hours the next. This has resulted in discrepancies and workers not receiving their full entitlements.

“Australian coal miners have a very good long service leave scheme, but it needs updating to close loopholes and reflect the nature of today’s industry,” said Mr Kelly.

“Casuals have been short-changed because there has been no provision to average out the 35 ordinary hours over the roster cycle, as is the case for permanent employees. We made the case for addressing this inequity for casuals in our submission to the 2021 review into the Coal Long Service Leave Scheme.”

Mr Kelly is happy with the government’s attention to the issue and the motivation to resolve any unfair treatment of workers.

“We are very pleased that the Albanese government has seen the importance of addressing this issue, which affects many thousands of workers across our coalfields,” he said.

“Mining companies’ aggressive push to casualise the workforce has undermined rights and entitlements for coal mineworkers across the industry. We are very pleased to have a federal government willing to push back and strengthen laws in the interests of workers.”