Perth (Platts)--18Jan2013/600 am EST/1100 GMT

Pacific National's coal train division in the Australian state of New South Wales is facing a strike threat with 80% of its drivers and ancillary staff voted in favor of work stoppage for 12, 24 and 48 hours, Bob Nanva, national secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, said Friday.

He said that "80% voted overwhelmingly in favor of industrial action and it follows their rejection of the company's proposed new enterprise agreement by 85% last December."

Nanva was unable to comment on the timing and scope of any industrial action at Pacific National. This was for union delegates who would be meeting soon to decide on a strategy, he added.

The union was willing to keep its dialogue with the company open, he stressed.

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"We are happy to sit at the negotiating table ... The ball is in the court of Pacific National," he said.

The union is seeking a 9% pay rise in the first year of a new enterprise agreement for its members working for Pacific National's coal haulage division in New South Wales, followed by two successive rises of 7% in each of the second and third years of the agreement.

Nanva said the union's pay claims were "eminently affordable" by Pacific National, and were based on union research of projected increases in coal export volumes from New South Wales coalfields.

PACIFIC NATIONAL RESPONDS

Asciano, Pacific National's parent company, acknowledged in an emailed statement Friday that the union had voted for industrial action, and expressed disappointment at the outcome.

"The ballot of Rail, Tram and Bus Union members, with 57% of eligible employees voting, has just been declared in support of protected industrial action," said the company in its statement.

Asciano said it was committed to its position of seeking the best possible outcome for its employees, with minimum disruption to its customers.

"As a result of seeking a formal response from the RTBU regarding our offers, including the offer to move to consent arbitration, we have agreed to meet on Wednesday and look forward to discussing their response," said Asciano, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

"If, and when, the RTBU decides to take action, the union is required under the Act to provide us with a minimum of three working days' notice before any protected industrial action can occur," the company added.

Asciano also noted that a smaller group of union members belonging to the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union had failed to achieve the required threshold for strike action in its ballot, because fewer than 50% of its five members had voted.

Only two AMWU members in the Pacific National coal division had voted for work stoppages, according to the results of the vote posted on the website of Fair Work Australia, Thursday.

Pacific National's trains carry 65% of all the coal transported on the New South Wales rail network, and the company's coal haulage division employs 995 employees, according to the spokeswoman.

Some coal producers in New South Wales such as Whitehaven Coal and Xstrata operate their own trains.

Aurizon, formerly known as QR National, also operates some trains in New South Wales that transport coal to ports such as Newcastle, which shipped 134 million mt of coal exports in 2012.

--Mike Cooper, michael_cooper@platts.com
--Edited by E Shailaja Nair, shailaja_nair@platts.com

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