Over the past three months there have been worrying developments with a mining company, Caledon Resources, and a coal mine contractor, Delta SBD, both going into voluntary administration.

The situation for 150 workers Caledon’s Cook Colliery in Queensland is especially galling because they were seemingly pressured by management into taking two months of unpaid leave while an inundation of the mine’s longwall was sorted out.

The employees were also reassured by management that water problems would not be an issue at the longwall before they started work.

Shortly after longwall production started in 203 panel, a large body of water flooded the panel, causing a string of issues for the underground mine and workers. 

Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union Queensland district vice-president Glenn Power said Caledon Resources’ CC Pty Ltd funders had since cut off funding to the site in an attempt to protect its foreign investors. 

“Australian workers are left behind with no pay, no explanation and no certainty over their futures,” he said. 

“Workers have been told they cannot access their long service leave or redundancy entitlements until the company goes into liquidation – and even then, there is no guarantee that workers will receive all funds owed to them.”

Turning to Delta, the New South Wales contractor had been squeezed during the downturn and had sought to fix up its balance sheet. When it won a whole-of-mine contract at Wollongong Coal’s Wongawilli Colliery and other contracts in the Illawarra, Hunter Valley and Bowen Basin last year, there was some hope the company had turned the corner and its worse days were behind it.     

Having reported positive results for FY 2016, Delta was seeking to retain contracts with long-term clients and aiming to secure contracts with new clients in FY 2017, Delta CEO Neville McAlary said last December.

“We are pleased with the progress that the company has made during 2016 and these contracts are an important validation of our offering to producers,” he said.

“Our outlook for the business is positive as we focus on offering greater value to mine owners through solutions-based services that underpin repeat work.”

How things can change in the matter of months.

There are now more than 300 Delta employees who, through no fault of their own, face an uncertain job market with not even their entitlements to fall back on.   

For its part the union wants the government to intervene to make sure this cannot happen again.

Given the worry and potential great loss of hard-earned entitlements, Hogsback thinks something should be done to stop this situation from continuing.