Multi-employer bargaining approved for three mines in a ground-breaking decision by the Fair Work Commission

The Collieries’ Staff and Officials Association (CSOA) has won the right to undertake multi-employer bargaining for its members across three mine sites owned by different companies.

This decision was the first contested application for a single-interest enterprise bargaining agreement and will have widespread implications for the mining sector and the broader union movement.

On Friday, 23 August, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down its decision on the CSOA’s application for a single-interest employer authorisation covering five coal mine sites across NSW. While the Russell Vale Colliery closed in early 2024 and was removed from the application by consent, and the Delta Chain Valley Colliery authorisation was not included as the FWC found its operations were not reasonably comparable to the other mine sites, the three mines that were successfully included in the application are:

• Peabody Energy Australia Coal Pty Ltd at Wambo Underground Coal Mine (Peabody)
• Ulan Coal Mines Pty Ltd at Ulan No.3 Underground Coal Mine (Ulan)
• Whitehaven Coal Mining Ltd at Narrabri Coal Mine (Whitehaven)

Professionals Australia interim CEO Paul Inglis welcomed the decision by the FWC and said it was a major step forward for mine workers seeking to secure and maintain their pay and conditions and would streamline an unnecessarily complex and difficult enterprise bargaining process for all parties.

“The Fair Work Commission's decision to grant our application to bargain one agreement across multiple sites is a significant win, not just for our own members, but for all mining workers, and has important implications for all workers across the union movement.

“This decision paves the way for other employees to consider multi-employer bargaining both in mining and across other industries as a fair and efficient method for negotiating in their workplaces.” Mr Inglis said the decision was an important achievement for the CSOA, which initially lodged the application in December 2023. The case was heard before the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission over two weeks in April and May this year.

“The purpose of the application was to seek an order, under recent reforms to the Fair Work Act, that those employers bargain together with the Association and its members for an enterprise agreement that would cover all sites.

“The proposed agreement would cover employees working as undermanagers, deputies, control room operators and shift engineers at those sites.

"To be successful in the application, our Association had to demonstrate, among other factors, that the employers share clearly identifiable common interests, have reasonably comparable business activities and operations, that the authorisation was not contrary to the public interest and that a majority of employees at each site wanted to bargain.

“Our application was opposed by the employers on all grounds, including on the basis that their operations were of varying scope and scale and that our members didn’t know what they were voting for.

“Our members are highly skilled leaders in the mining industry who are responsible for ensuring the safe operations of their workplaces on a day-to-day basis. The Commission rightfully rejected their employers’ attempts to undermine their support for a joint agreement through suggestions that they did not understand the implications of their vote.

"The FWC found in the Association’s favour and issued an authorisation that requires Peabody, Ulan, and Whitehaven to bargain with our Association for the enterprise agreement proposed by its members. “The decision reinforces that this jurisdiction is there to be used. While the commission identified differences between the employers, it took a common-sense approach that held that Ulan, Narrabri and Wambo had reasonably comparable operations.

“As the first contested application, the decision of the Full Bench will now set a precedent for the application of the laws across Australia.“For CSOA members, it now means that the three named employers will be required to bargain with the Association and its members over the next 12 months for an agreement.

“For the mining industry and broader union movement, it demonstrates that workers can now access the multi-employer bargaining regime to collectively bargain for fair conditions and entitlements as our members look to secure their futures in a transitioning industry.

“We have always maintained that multi-employer bargaining will deliver benefits not only for our members but also for employers. Consolidating bargaining across different mine sites will create efficiencies for employers who can begin to avoid repeating time-consuming and resource-intensive single-site agreements.

“Our members at these sites will soon be able to move between jobs, safe with the knowledge that their baseline negotiated entitlements will follow them throughout their career at those mine sites.

“We look forward to commencing bargaining with the employers for a fair and equitable agreement that secures our members’ entitlements.”

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