At the May/June Senate Estimates I asked questions of the Coal LSL Board to establish that a person working under an Enterprise Agreement contract cannot receive benefits less than the agreed award for the same category.

Under the Black Coal Award there’s no category for casuals because casuals are not allowed to be employed under the Black Coal award.

The Board confirmed that they do not check which category a coal miner works when calculating long service entitlements, merely accepting what the employer tells Coal LSL.

All this contributes to coal miners being exploited in not getting their entitlements.