‘We were punished if someone injured themselves’: Injured miner tells Qld Coal Mining Board of Inquiry
A worker injured in last year’s Grosvenor mine blast has told an inquiry how labour hire contractors were treated differently to permanent employees.
Mackay
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Labour hire contractors at Grosvenor mine were treated "differently" to the permanent workforce and would lose their bonuses if someone was injured onsite, a miner has told an inquiry.
A worker injured in last year's Grosvenor mine blast, Wayne Sellars, gave this evidence at the Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry into the disaster.
Counsel assisting the board Ruth O'Gorman asked Mr Sellars to explain the benefits and drawbacks of being a permanent worker compared to a labour hire contractor in the mining industry.
"(There's a) huge difference between being a permanent and a labour hire contractor," Mr Sellars said.
He went on to explain how contractors were treated differently to the permanent workforce.
"It's just the way it is," Mr Sellars said.
"In a permanent workforce you've got more of a voice to speak up.
"We were punished if someone injured themselves, we'd lose our bonus on site.
"That breeds bad culture - It puts everyone off-side."
More stories:
Workers' concerns about Grosvenor sometimes ignored: Miner
Fear of speaking out on mine safety an industry-wide issue
Higher production push at Grosvenor months before blast
Inspectorate under fire for failure to share safety records
At the time of the blast, Mr Sellars was employed by One Key Resources as a labour hire contractor at Grosvenor mine.
Before that, he was a permanent employee at Newlands mine.
Anglo American owns Grosvenor mine.
In a statement, Anglo's metallurgical coal business chief executive Tyler Mitchelson said it was "unacceptable that our colleagues were injured at Grosvenor mine last May".
"We acknowledge the life-altering impact this incident has had on them and their families," Mr Mitchelson said.
"As we work to put in place measures to improve the future safe operation of Grosvenor mine, we will pay close attention to Mr Sellars' testimony."
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