Rolling work stoppages have been continuing this week at five Glencore open-cut coal mines 

in  the  Australian  state  of  New South Wales and the protests are expected to intensify over 

this weekend, a senior union official said Thursday. 

Workers at the Bulga open-cut mine have been on strike from Tuesday and although they will 

return to work for the day shift on Friday, they are planning a 12-hour stoppage from the start 

of the night shift. 

The Bulga workers were planning to continue their strike during the day shift on Saturday and 

Sunday  before  resuming  work on Monday, said Peter Jordan, president of the Construction, 

Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's northern mining and energy district in New South Wales. 

BULGA UNDERGROUND VOTE 

A vote on the union's proposed industrial action involving workers at Bulga is set to go ahead 

next week, after Australia's Fair Work Commission sanctioned the move on Friday. 

"We expect that probably in the week commencing August 10 they will have the ability to take 

industrial action," said Jordan. 

At  the  Glendell open-cut mine, union workers are to strike for 12 hours during Saturday and 

Sunday  night-time shifts, and a 24-hour strike is planned at the mine site for Monday, Jordan 

said. 

There  was a  24-hour  strike  at  Glencore's  Liddell open-cut mine on Tuesday, and workers 

also  took  industrial  action  for  12 hours  on Wednesday and on Thursday. They are due to 

work normally over the weekend. 

Mangoola  mineworkers  belonging  to  the  CFMEU have been holding two-hour strikes every 

day  this  week  that  will  continue  till Friday. They plan to go on 24-hour strikes on Saturday 

and Sunday, and return to work on Monday. 

Twenty-four  hour  strikes  usually  begin  at 6 or 7 am  depending  on  the  start time of each 

Glencore mine, a senior union official said. TALKS HALTED 

Jordan  expressed  concern  at  the  lack  of  progress  in  negotiations with Glencore for new 

workplace agreements for the mine sites to replace the ones that expired up to two years ago 

in some cases. 

In the case of Mangoola mine, talks have been halted until the outcome of an employee vote 

next  week  on  whether  to  accept  a  new  agreement that has already been rejected by the 

workers. 

"Until  we  know the result of the vote we are unable to have further discussions," Jordan said, 

adding that he was certain the agreement would be rejected again because it addressed non

e of the issues under negotiation such as security of employment. 

A  similar  vote  is  being held at the Glendell mine, and negotiations for its agreement cannot 

proceed until the outcome is known, Jordan said.