Vickery strike continues

By Alex Bainbridge NEWCASTLE — CRA subsidiary, Novacoal, rejected an offer on March 7 by miners' union, CFMEU, to guarantee its profits to the tune of $250,000. The Vickery mine near Gunnedah has struck for almost seven months over compulsory 12 &189; hour shifts. Novacoal management has been claiming that the union's proposal which includes eight &189; hour shifts would mean the company would lose $250,000 every six months. CFMEU national president John Maitland said that the fact that the company refused the union's guarantee to return the mine to a cash surplus within six months proves that the mine's viability is not the central issue in the dispute. "It appears that what CRA really seeks is the simple right to impose whatever hours and working conditions it likes on its work force", Maitland said. The union's northern NSW president, Mick Watson, is reported to have said that he believed the company's managers rejected the offer because their jobs were on the line and they didn't want the mine to be run successfully under a union proposal. The strike is set to continue after the union's unprecedented offer was rejected. The dispute returns to arbitration on March 11.