Union members at Muswellbrook are taking industrial action today over an enterprise agreement dispute.
They're disgruntled with multinational machinery company, Hitachi, claiming the employer is refusing to recognise tradesmen as mineworkers, despite them working in a coal mine on a daily basis.
More than 50 of the workers are fighting for better work entitlements after rejecting Hitachi's original offer they claimed had substandard leave and accident pay.
The tradesmen are on seven-day rotating shifts of over 13 hours duration and are not receiving industry standard benefits.
District President of the CFMEU, Peter Jordan, says they perform the same work as coal miners and work the same rosters.
Mr Jordan says if they can secure a new enterprise agreement the benefits would be enormous.
"[The workers would] receive the same long service leave as other coal miners, they'd start to be treated the same in accident pay. They'd receive 78 weeks accident pay and that's important," said Mr Jordan.
The action began four weeks ago with short six-hour stoppages and the Union are now having up to four, 12-hour stoppages.
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| Multinational Machinery Company, Hitachi. Picture: Yellow Pages |
