Mining & Energy Union

⚠️ LOADED HAUL TRUCK ROLLS AFTER OPERATOR EXCEEDS RAMP SPEED

Earlier this year a haul truck operator had to be extricated from the cab after a loaded Hitachi 3500 rolled onto its side at a NSW open-cut mine.

The truck was descending an in-pit ramp when the operator attempted to negotiate a left-hand corner at speed.

The truck hit the centre island and rolled.

Data downloaded from the truck showed the operator had not complied with the site's designated crest and ramp speed limits, causing the truck to go into overspeed.

The NSW Resources Regulator also found the operator did not use the service/emergency brake to bring the truck back under control.

Thankfully, the operator was not injured.

An audit found the ramp and intersection complied with the site's roadway and intersection standards.

The Regulator reminded operators to remain focused on designated ramp and crest speeds, ensure automatic retarders are set correctly and use the emergency brake in the event of a loss of control.

It also recommended sites consider speed monitoring and regularly examine monitoring data for non-compliance.

Another hard-fought MEU win, with Fair Work confirming that employers can't dodge Same Job Same Pay by contracting with a new labour hire provider.

The case centered around RIx's Creek - one of our earliest SJSP victories - and the introduction of a new contracting company to the site. Mine owner Bloomfield argued that these new contractors were exempt from Same Job Same Pay as they were service contractors, but the MEU successfully argued that they perform the same work as members of the drill and blast crew, and should be included.

Due to our original order, labour hire workers at Rix's Creek received pay rises bringing them in line with the mine's direct employees. The MEU will never allow unscrupulous employers to undermine the victories our members fought so hard for, and will continue to stand up for all mine workers - be they directly employed or labour hire.

🚭 At work,BHP says second-hand smoke is a health risk.
🚬 At its FIFO camps? BHP allows smoking immediately outside workers' rooms.

For more than three years, MEU members in the Pilbara have been asking BHP to introduce designated smoking areas (or some other way to manage the risk) while cigarette smoke regularly drifts into neighbouring rooms while workers try to sleep.

Other major Pilbara operators already use designated smoking areas to address this health risk. BHP just leave it up to workers to ask their neighbours to be more "courteous" if they're having a passive smoke issue in their BHP assigned accommodation. 🤨

Nobody is asking BHP to ban smoking. No issue with smokers themselves. But it's 2026, we should have this figured out by now!

👉 Read the full story at the link in the comments

Good news for Mt Pleasant mineworkers and their families!

The NSW Government has approved Mach Energy’s application to extend operations at Mt Pleasant through to 2032, providing additional job security for around 700 workers in the Upper Hunter. This is a sensible decision that gives workers, families and the local community some much-needed certainty.

The longer-term future of Mt Pleasant remains before the High Court following a legal challenge to approvals allowing the mine to operate through to 2048. The MEU will continue to stand up for Mt Pleasant mineworkers and support the mine operating well into the 2040s.

MEU members at Moorvale open cut mine in QLD have won an important Fair Work Commission decision confirming that time spent travelling from the end of a rostered shift until signing out at the security gate is unrostered overtime – payable at double time.

The dispute involved Moorvale employees who were directed to work at Moorvale South and required to travel between the two open cut pits. The Commission found that this travel meant employees performed work outside their rostered hours.

Peabody says the average additional entitlement is 18 minutes per shift.

But the company has so far refused to provide the full data needed to determine exactly what workers are owed.

The MEU will keep pursuing the matter to make sure members receive every dollar they are entitled to. If agreement can’t be reached, we’ll take it back to the Commission for arbitration.

Workers must be paid for all the time they work. This is a reminder to workers everywhere: don’t let unpaid work creep in around the edges of your shift. If you’re expected to start work before your shift starts, or keep working after it ends, you should be getting paid for that time.

⚠️ SAFETY ALERT: FALL FROM EXCAVATOR BREAKS WORKER’S LEGS

Earlier this year a worker suffered serious injuries after falling about four metres from an excavator while pressure washing at a Hunter Valley mine.

The worker was leaning against an access gate when a stanchion post supporting the gate failed at its base, causing them to fall to the ground. They suffered multiple fractures to both legs and other injuries.

The NSW Resources Regulator found a number of contributing factors, including:

-modifications to the original access platform that removed a supporting stanchion
-inadequate management of change when an aftermarket maintenance platform was installed
-a crack or weld flaw that allowed the remaining stanchion to fail
-inspections that failed to identify the defect
-damage to the access ladder, including at least two missing lower rungs, which had not resulted in it being taken out of service.

In response, the regulator urged mine operators to review inspection and defect-management processes for access systems, ensure modifications are properly engineered and verified, and make sure management-of-change processes adequately address working-at-heights risks.

Workers should never have to find out the hard way that a handrail, gate or access platform isn’t safe. If access equipment is damaged or defective, report it and make sure it is taken out of service.