Perth (Platts)--12Feb2013/513 am EST/1013 GMT
Australia's Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Bill Shorten Tuesday formally intervened in an industrial dispute affecting coal train operator Pacific National after a weekend strike by unionized drivers halted the delivery of 500,000 mt of coal to Newcastle port. Shorten has "reached out" to assist in resolving the dispute, Pacific National Coal's parent company Asciano said in a statement. The minister has opened the door to more third-party mediated talks between Asciano and the drivers on the proviso that the Rail, Tram and Bus Union agrees to suspend its current campaign of strikes. "Based on his proposal, and with the commitment of no further industrial action during the proposed discussions, Pacific National Coal has accepted the offer to return to the Fair Work Commission," said Asciano in its statement. The commission is a government agency that regulates workplace relations. Article continues below...Sign up to International Coal Report today. International Coal Report and its daily companion, Coal Trader International, deliver expert and respected price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and Pacific markets including price assessments for European CIF ARA, FOB Newcastle, Richards Bay and Indonesia.
Australia's Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Bill Shorten Tuesday formally intervened in an industrial dispute affecting coal train operator Pacific National after a weekend strike by unionized drivers halted the delivery of 500,000 mt of coal to Newcastle port. Shorten has "reached out" to assist in resolving the dispute, Pacific National Coal's parent company Asciano said in a statement. The minister has opened the door to more third-party mediated talks between Asciano and the drivers on the proviso that the Rail, Tram and Bus Union agrees to suspend its current campaign of strikes. "Based on his proposal, and with the commitment of no further industrial action during the proposed discussions, Pacific National Coal has accepted the offer to return to the Fair Work Commission," said Asciano in its statement. The commission is a government agency that regulates workplace relations.
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International Coal Report and its daily companion, Coal Trader International, deliver expert and respected price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and Pacific markets including price assessments for European CIF ARA, FOB Newcastle, Richards Bay and Indonesia.
The dispute over pay rises for 840 staff employed in Pacific National's coal haulage division in the Australian state of New South Wales escalated into strike action at the weekend, resulting in the cancellation of Pacific National coal trains that were scheduled to move 500,000 mt of coal exports from mines in the state to Newcastle port. Negotiations between the train drivers' union and Asciano had ground to a halt last week. Shorten, a leader in the Australian union movement before he entered Australia's parliament, has worked behind the scenes to bring other industrial disputes to an end in recent months, including bringing to a close the intractable two-year dispute at BHP Billiton-Mitsubishi Alliance's Queensland coking coal mines in October; a tug boat workers' planned strike at Gladstone port in July; and ending a dispute at Fremantle port that boiled over into a one-day strike in December.--Mike Cooper, michael_cooper@platts.com--Edited by Wendy Wells, wendy_wells@platts.com
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