The most baffling thing about this drawn-out dispute at Tahmoor Colliery is how willing Xstrata seems to be to cut off its nose to spite its face. 

Simply agreeing to the very reasonable requests of workers would ensure extremely profitable business as usual, but management seems determined to fight some sort of ideological battle. 

Xstrata must have lost a stack due to the stubborn position of Tahmoor management.

However management has been failing to disclose to its owners – its shareholders – the full cost of its long-running dispute.

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Many of our members at Xstrata mines up and down the east coast will remember meeting Paris Mashego, our South African colleague from the National Union of Mineworkers, who joined us on a tour of Xstrata mines back in April.

Paris has a lot of experience dealing with Xstrata in South Africa. He came to Australia to listen to our members’ concerns and bring some international perspective to our struggles.

Paris has sent us the report of his visit to Australia he prepared for his South African colleagues – and I’d like to share his observations with you.

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The Foxtel satellite’s gone up, the tv's in place and the boys on the picket line have got some serious viewing ahead of them down here at Tahmoor.

On Friday night, Xstrata management shut the gates and locked out the 200-strong workforce. Not just for a night or two, but until September 7.

We’ve been trying to negotiate an enterprise agreement down here that gives the workforce some job security – some confidence that they won’t just turn up for work one day to find they've been replaced by contractors.

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Xstrata shouldn’t have anything to do with the industrial dispute up here at Collinsville open-cut mine in north Queensland. Xstrata owns the mine, but it’s operated by Thiess.

Our members have been trying to negotiate an agreement with Thiess for over 2 years and have just been on strike for 16 days to try and win some movement on key sticking points, like job security, housing allowances, union meetings and pay.

Strong community: Collinsville supports its miners

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- Approving a $1.2 billion underground thermal coal mine at Ulan West, adjoining the existing Ulan complex near Mudgee - not the act of a business terrified of the government's proposed mining resource tax.

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Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement at Tahmoor Colliery have dragged on too long and will only be resolved with the help of an independent umpire.

We've been trying to negotiate a new agreement with Xstrata for 21 months. It’s time to resolve this dispute once and for all.

Xstrata spokesman James Rickards was on the radio telling ABC Illawarra listeners this week that the dispute was costing the business millions of dollars and should be resolved for the sake of workers and the community.

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Let’s face it: coal mining has to be the blokeiest industry in Australia, but last Friday's action from local women just goes to prove the true impact of what Xstrata is trying to do.

Tahmoor Colliery workers  returned to work last Friday morning, but their picket camps weren't deserted.

Support team: Women and kids 'man' the picket line

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Workers sacked from Ulan mine last year have had a win, with Fair Work Australia (FWA) telling Xstrata it should offer them jobs at other mines.

Last week, FWA’s Commissioner Raffaelli ruled that Ulan’s operator Xstrata should have offered alternative employment to six retrenched workers.

This is great news and not just for the six workers involved. It sets the important precedent that major mine operators like Xstrata need to look after their workers and offer them alternative opportunities if work slows down at one location

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News of a threat to the safety of an Xstrata staff member on the NSW South Coast on the weekend is of great concern.

Any threat of violence is to be condemned and thoroughly investigated by police.

I’m very disappointed that Xstrata has pre-empted the police investigation and immediately portrayed this incident as an industrial issue.

Xstrata made a public statement claiming the incident is in some way connected to the industrial negotiations between the Union and management at Tahmoor Colliery. This is completely inappropriate.

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The dispute with Xstrata at the Tahmoor Colliery has been punishing our local community for far too long, but the foreign mining giant seems determined to make things even worse.

Last Friday mine workers were due to start picketing in response to the company’s flat-out refusal to even come to the negotiation table on a new enterprise agreement.

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