With the election campaign in full swing, the Mining and Energy Union has released an updated version of a report commissioned in 2020 from the McKell Institute, showing how "casual" mineworkers are doing the same work as their directly employed counterparts but earning 30 to 40 per cent less, while lacking job security, sick leave and holiday pay.
At the time of the original 2020 edition, the union was fighting a series of Fair Work Commission and Federal Court cases over the rates paid to labour-hire miners across the NSW and Queensland coal industries.
Along the way, the coal union push became part of a wider debate about casual employment in this country, one that ended - for the time being, at least - in August last year when the High Court of Australia brought down a ruling that found in favour of the employers.
In simple language, the court held that an employee was a casual if they signed a contract saying they were a casual, even if - and this is the case for thousands of coalminers across this region - they had an "expectation of continuing employment on a regular and systematic basis".
Employer groups across the country applauded the decision, saying it ended the "double-dipping" they claimed would take place if a series of class actions across a range of industries - inspired by the struggle in coal - were to succeed.
After all, the employers and the Morrison government said, the casuals were paid a loading of 25 per cent on top of the permanent rate.
But as the Newcastle Herald has reported repeatedly since 2015, this is only part of the story in the coal industry.
Casuals might earn an above-award $110,000, but as the Mining and Energy Union points out, they do not earn the production bonus that pushes a permanent coalminer's wage to $145,000 or more, with job security, holiday and sick pay.
That's why a casual mineworker, even with an hourly loading of 30 per cent, will always - and it is always - earn 30 per cent to 40 per cent less than their directly employed counterpart for the same work.
With coal at record highs, the industry is swimming in money.
Many in other jobs would love the $110,000 a year earned by coal casuals, but the disparity with full-time coal earnings is difficult to justify.
It's an issue worth some attention before May 21.
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