ABOUT 75 mine supervisors at the giant Mount Arthur open-cut mine at Muswellbrook will be covered by an enterprise agreement rather than individual contracts after their union fought a three-year battle against mine owner BHP.
The agreement with the Collieries Staff and Officials' Association and the CFMEU follows a January decision in the Fair Work Commission in which Commissioner Tony Saunders agreed with the union that BHP had not met the "good faith" bargaining provisions of the Fair Work Act.
Commissioner Saunders issued orders in Newcastle that Mount Arthur management was to stop any further "delay" in negotiations.
The company was told to no longer "raise new issues or barriers" to negotiation and to cease bargaining in an "unfair" and "capricious" manner.
BHP said yesterday it "rejects the assertions of unfairness and delay, but accepts the decision" of the commission.
It said an enterprise agreement "was not the preferred way of engaging supervisors", but it respected the rights of workers to bargain for one.
Collieries staff association director Catherine Bolger said Tuesday's vote in favour of the agreement was 'important" because it locked in conditions for the supervisors if BHP sold the mine as it said it intends to do.
Ms Bolger said the agreement "sets a benchmark" for supervisors at other mines, who were also employed on individual contracts.
She said the equivalent positions in underground mines - deputies - were usually employed on enterprise agreements.
"BHP has led the employer push to cut back on award conditions," Ms Bolger said.
"The supervisors felt they had no alternative but to lock in their conditions by way of an enterprise agreeement."
Ms Bolger said the negotiations were always "friendly" on the surface.
"But our members held concerns that BHP was not bargaining in good faith and ultimately the Fair Work Commission shared our concerns," Ms Bolger said.
Ms Bolger said the agreement did not cover the southern end of Mount Arthur, where the mining was done on contract by Thiess.
