Coal workers could be the first to test the new multi-employer bargaining regime. 

The Collieries’ Staff and Officials Association (CSOA) has initiated a bid for a new agreement, aiming to standardise pay and conditions across the Australian resources sector. 

This step, targeting key mining players such as Peabody Energy, Glencore, and Whitehaven, has sparked significant concern among industry leaders about potential impacts on competition and operational continuity.

The union's proposal seeks to encompass 216 critical supervisors, each earning over $167,000 annually, across five New South Wales mines. 

The roles in question, including safety supervisors and shift engineers, are vital for maintaining coal production, thus raising industry fears of potentially crippling strikes.

This case emerges as a crucial test of the Labor government's new multi-employer bargaining laws, introduced last June, despite significant opposition from the mining sector. 

The laws, which were a point of contention during their introduction, permit unions to strike across different employers and rope in similar businesses under certain conditions.

CSOA director Catherine Bolger says the union is focused on standardising key conditions such as uncapped redundancy pay and the payout of sick leave on termination. 

She says these changes would benefit both workers and employers by facilitating greater workforce mobility and addressing the current shortage in specialist mining skills.

However, the Minerals Council of Australia expressed deep concerns about the potential precedent this case could set, warning that industrial action in this case could lead to shutdowns at multiple sites across the country.

The opposition from the mining companies, led by Peabody Energy, centres on the perceived threat to individual business models and the lack of majority support from workers for such a sweeping agreement. 

They argue that the diverse financial and operational structures of the mines make a unified industrial agreement impractical and potentially harmful.

Despite these concerns, the CSOA claims strong support for the proposal, citing a survey indicating 97 per cent approval from workers. 

The group has also highlighted the vulnerability of workers on individual or “award free” contracts, which often lack robust consultation processes for major changes, leaving their conditions legally exposed.

The Fair Work Commission has scheduled a five-day hearing on the CSOA’s application in April. 

The case could set a significant precedent for future multi-employer agreements.