Rio Tinto guilty — again
Mining giant Rio Tinto has lodged an appeal against the decision by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission that the company must reinstate 11 sacked workers at its Hunter Valley No 1 mine in NSW. The Commission found that the workers, sacked by Rio Tinto in 1998, had been unfairly, harshly and unjustly terminated. Another 97 workers sacked on the same day stand to gain from the decision. The Mining Division of the CFMEU said that the dismissed workers have families to support and that in appealing against the decision Rio Tinto is perpetuating the hardship they and the local community have suffered due to the conduct of the company. The decision means Rio Tinto will have to pay the 108 coal miners up to $20 million in back pay. The union is continuing its fight for the reinstatement of 84 workers sacked from Rio Tinto's Mount Thorley mine, also in the Hunter Valley. It is the second such decision against the company this year. In April the Commission ordered the reinstatement, with full back pay, of 16 coalminers at its Blair Athol operations in Queensland, also sacked in 1998. The sackings are part of Rio Tinto's anti-union vendetta. In the case of the Blair Athol workers, the Commission found they were victims of a company-sanctioned conspiracy and that there existed a secret black list to victimise the 16. On October 20, 1998, at Hunter Valley No 1 miners were confronted by 20 security guards when they turned up for work. The guards escorted them away from the mine, telling them they no longer had a job. The union has called on Rio Tinto to begin fresh negotiations at the three mines now that it has been found guilty of victimising coalminers in Queensland and NSW. Responding to the company's appeal against the Hunter Valley No 1 decision, CFMEU Northern District President, Mick Watson, said, "Rio Tinto has shown total disregard for these people and their communities by not accepting the Commission's decision and reinstating the employees with back pay as ordered. "I call on Rio Tinto to do what is right and accept the umpire's decision and reinstate the dismissed employees."