One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts was recently made aware of the plight of the many labour hire mine workers in the Hunter Valley who have been left high and dry by their employer and the CFMMEU.
“We have all heard the stories about how well people can do in the mines but for these people today, this could not be further from the truth.” Senator Roberts said.
“Every day Australians like Simon Turner and Brodie Gilks are people who have been working hard to put bread on the table for their families and then they were injured on the job.”
The labour hire employer and the CFMMEU have ignored calls for help from these workers. There are many stories like this of labour hire employees being underpaid and over-worked, then being left broken and in despair.
“Imagine how hard it must be for Brodie not even being able to pick up and nurse her child due to workplace injuries for which she was never properly compensated,” Senator Roberts added.
Christmas 2019 will be a tough time for these workers, with no money to spend on gifts for the little ones, and wondering if they can make the next mortgage payment.
This is life for these forgotten workers and they have the physical and the invisible scars to prove it.
The union and the employer have established an Enterprise Agreement that hoodwinked these workers; it offered poor job security and lacked the conditions that every day Australians have a right to expect from our industrial relations system.
The employer labour hire companies employ these everyday Australians as casuals when there is no such provision under the relevant Coal Award. As casuals some slipped through the cracks in the insurance system and missed out on fair entitlements, and Fair Work Australia did not notice.
Senator Roberts added “When these workers complained, their complaints fell on deaf ears until our One Nation team listened and acted.”
“The real question is what is the Government going to do for these people, people like us?”
Senator Malcolm Roberts and the One Nation Team are listening to everyday Australians and they are helping real people with real problems.
Media inquiries for Senator Roberts contact Robyn Cross, M: 0428 483 098
