Court says affected employees could have been redeployed
The Federal Court ruled on Friday that 22 sacked union members at Helensburgh coal mine in the Illawarra were not genuine redundancies.
The Federal Court accepted the argument that the sacked employees in 2020 could have been reasonably redeployed, while also pointing out that contractors started performing similar work.
The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) described the conclusion as a "fantastic decision."
"These workers lost their jobs almost four years ago and they have endured a lengthy legal battle to fight for their own jobs and the principle of job security in the mining industry," said Bob Timbs, MEU South West District Vice President, in a statement.
"This is a fantastic legal decision, and we thank our affected members and legal team who were determined to fight all the way."
The ruling stems from long legal battle that began in 2020, after the 22 union members questioned their employer’s move to terminate them before the Fair Work Commission.
Peabody, the mine owner, decreased its level of production and its workforce after COVID-19 impacted the demand and price of coking coal. It impacted 90 directly employed staff, including the 22 union members who were subject to a forced redundancy.
That same year, however, he also deployed several contractors to undertake belt cleaning and belt improvement work at the mine.
The FWC ruled that the sacked permanent employees could have undertaken the functions performed by the contractors, and rejected Peabody's argument that doing so would need additional supervisors.
The employer appealed the case and was referred back to the FWC for reconsideration in 2021, which again decided that the none of the dismissals was a case of genuine redundancy.
An appeal was made again in 2022, but it was dismissed anew by authorities.
In its latest appeal to the Federal Court, Peabody sought to quash all the FWC decisions and compel the commission to cease dealing further with all the unfair dismissal applications.
But the full court of the Federal Court also ruled that the dismissals in 2020 were not genuine redundancies, as similar work continued to be performed by the contractors.
Peabody can apply special leave to appeal to the High Court. But if it doesn't, the case returns to the FWC for a determination on remedies for the affected workers, potentially involving compensation or reinstatement.
