Residents 'nervous' about town's future as Collinsville mine shuts

Updated August 30, 2013 14:08:24

Coal mining has been the lifeblood of Collinsville in north Queensland for almost a century, but that will end when the local mine is shut this weekend.

Mine owner Glencore is taking over the operations from contractor Thiess to try to make it profitable.

In a letter sent to workers in July, the company says it wants several issues addressed before it will reopen the mine.

Glencore says it wants to upgrade equipment to improve productivity and implement more "modern and flexible" workplace agreements.

The demands have angered local Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) Steve Smyth, who represents the mine's 400 workers.

"I actually think that Glencore should obviously give respect to the current workforce that has been there in its current format for 17 years," he said.

"A lot of those workers see coal as their future - a lot of the workers own houses in the community.

"Generally the businesses require the mine or rely on that mine to operate.

"The workers are very upset, their families are upset, the communities upset as a whole."

Glencore says it wants to recruit staff locally but there is been no guarantee it will rehire people who worked with Theiss.

'Very nervous times ahead'

The ABC spoke to several workers but they did not want to comment publicly.

However one worker said he felt like he had been treated like a number despite decades of service.

Donna Bulloch, the president of Mining Communities United - a miner's support group - says many people in the community are worried about their future in Collinsville.

"The feeling is very I guess nervous, would be the exact word," she said.

"Everyone's nervous about what's going to happen and what Glencore's next step is.

"Obviously sacking 400 workers will have a huge impact on businesses but not only that, the local community itself.

"We're losing families, which in turn loses kids from schools, so it's very nervous times ahead."

She says many people are angry at how Glencore has handled the situation.

"I feel quite sick that a company like Glencore can come into a town like this and close the doors on the mine, sack these people, and not be transparent," she said.

Local businesses are also worried about the mine's uncertain future.

Jim Nugent runs a general food store on the town's main street and he says it has been quiet.

"People know they're getting paid off," he said.

"They don't know if they're getting another job and they're sitting on their hands at the moment and there's no other jobs for them at the moment."

Union 'making false claims'

Meanwhile, talks to resolve the dispute have not been fruitful.

Glencore has accused the CFMEU of making false claims.

The company says its proposal "offers higher annual salaries and higher superannuation than the existing Thiess agreement applying at Collinsville".

However, Mr Smyth says he is not convinced.

"There's no ability to take industrial action as of August 31 - the current contract ceases," he said.

"We're considering what are options are legally and also from a moral perspective.

"The resolution obviously is in the hands of Glencore predominantly.

"We're happy to keep talking to them about an end or an end to a potential dispute, but at this stage there's no light at the end of the tunnel."

Topics: community-development, mining-rural, regional, mining-industry, regional-development, people, collinsville-4804, townsville-4810

First posted August 30, 2013 12:12:37