On Monday afternoon, in a move catching the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union offguard, Xstrata instructed its Bulga workforce to not attend work the next day.

The union had planned four 50-minute stoppages, two for each shift, at Bulga yesterday as protected industrial action.

CFMEU northern district vice-president Greg Sharpe told ILN that no more stoppages were planned at this stage as union representatives planned to meet with Xstrata management on January 27.

Sharpe felt Xstrata’s move to call off work for the day was an overreaction, with the four planned rolling stoppages effectively turning into a 24-hour stoppage.

The planned rolling stoppages would have banned the use of draglines, shovels and excavators for the 50-minute periods.

On Monday, Xstrata said the stoppages would significantly interrupt operations, “making it impractical to continue production during the allocated period”

The Bulga complex in the Upper Hunter Valley of News South Wales hosts the Bulga open cut, the Beltana longwall mine and a shared coal handling and preparation plant.

The upcoming Blakefield South longwall mine is expected to replace the Beltana operation in the current half-year period.

Blakefield South is targeting 4 million tonnes per annum of thermal coal production, according to a December presentation made in London by Xstrata chief executive Peter Freyberg.