IRC rejects CFMEU Yallourn appeal

BY CHRIS SLEE

MELBOURNE — On February 26, the Industrial Relations Commission rejected an appeal by the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union against the termination of its bargaining period with Yallourn Energy.

The union had appealed on the grounds that Commissioner Lewin, who terminated the bargaining period on November 2, had failed to reopen the case to consider new evidence in the form of secret company documents leaked to the Melbourne Age that showed the company planned to contract out its mine, sack all 260 mineworkers and lock out the workers in its power station for up to six months.

Also on February 26, Commissioner Polites began hearing a claim by the CFMEU that the company had violated the existing enterprise agreement by using contract labour to remove overburden at the mine, without the agreement of the union. Polites adjourned this issue to April 2. He rejected a CFMEU application that the contracting company, Roche Thiess Linfox, stop work at the site until the issue is resolved.

The IRC will hear a second appeal by the CFMEU relating to Commissioner Lewin's November 2 decision on March 19. No date has yet been set to hear the company's application for an arbitrated award.

A public meeting on the Yallourn workers' dispute will be held at Melbourne Trades Hall, 7pm, on March 8. For more information or to send messages of support, phone (03) 5126 1679.

From GLW issue 439