At the end of October our Union will hold our national Convention – an event that brings together hundreds of workplace representatives to reflect on the last four years and set our course for the next four.
This Convention is an opportunity to share good news. Our Union is growing and we are winning important reforms and great outcomes in the workplace.
Our last Convention was held in early 2021, delayed by Covid and held in regional hubs to manage travel restrictions. Along with the challenges of the pandemic, we faced a big decision about our future. We asked delegates to decide whether we should pursue a future independent of the CFMEU to form our own standalone Mining and Energy Union. The result was a unanimous ‘yes’ to pursuing independence.
While it took several lengthy legal battles, and required the law to be amended, we were ultimately successful in pursuing our members’ will. After several years of operating largely independently, we officially emerged as our own standalone Union on December 1, 2023.
There was some concern that becoming a smaller independent Union could affect our ability to advocate for necessary change in our workplaces and industry. The year since has shown these fears to be unfounded, and the MEU is now amongst the most respected, influential and effective unions in the country.
2024 has seen seismic shifts across the mining industry, driven by the courage, grit and determination of Mining and Energy Union members at all levels.
Our most wide-reaching achievement has been securing Same Job Same Pay laws for labour hire workers, pushing back against the wage-suppressing rort in our industry and beyond.
The first Same Job Same Pay orders come into effect on November 1, with hundreds of labour hire mineworkers waking up to pay rises in the tens of thousands annually. Additionally, we have dozens of applications in the pipeline. The new laws are already proving to be transformative with major employers taking on more permanent workers, reversing a decades-long trend.
We have also been delighted to see other unions use the laws to fight back against the dodgy employment practices in their own industries, against household names like Qantas and Kmart.
But while we campaign for national reform, we haven’t stopped winning locally, either. Convention is an opportunity to come together and share our workplace wins – like our new agreement with Komatsu, who supply technicians alongside their equipment at several mine sites in the Hunter and beyond.
Thanks to the hard work of our bargaining and organising teams, and the willingness of Komatsu workers to get involved and join the Union, we have reached an in-principle agreement with the company that will greatly increase conditions.
Under the proposed EA, Komatsu workers will have their personal leave increased from 76 hours to 120 hours a year and have secured an additional week’s annual leave. They are also up for a substantial pay bump – 19.5% over four years – and will receive double time for training.
It is great to be able to report to Convention that MEU member numbers are growing across NSW, as they are nationally. More mining and energy workers are recognising that when they stand together through the Union they can win better conditions at their workplace, or even change the law.
The MEU is growing and winning and there has never been a better time to get involved.
Robin Williams
District President MEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy
