Moranbah North miners protest over ‘dangerous’ hot bedding

Miners at Anglo American’s Moranbah North coal mine are protesting over the practice of hot bedding.

They say the ‘dangerous practice’ of sharing camp rooms would require miners to drive home after 12 hours shifts, the Daily Mercury reports.

According to CFMEU spokesperson Dean Smith, Anglo American’s plan to hot bed accommodation means miners have to hand in their room key and drive home after working their last 12-hour shift on their roster.

He went on to say that miners are also protesting over the lack of accommodation provided by the company, stating that more than 60 workers wanted to bring their families to the town, but that there was no housing available.

Protests against hot bedding plans and accommodation will last until the end of the week.

Anglo dismissed the hot bedding claims, stating that it has a strict fatigue management policy and keeps rooms available at Grosvenor Village for workers finishing their shifts.

“The safety of our employees is our number one priority and as part of this we have a fatigue management policy in place to support our employees who choose to commute to and from Moranbah,” an Anglo American spokeswoman said.

“We also provide buses that depart at the end of roster cycles to transport our workforce to Mackay.”

The miner also hit back against the accommodation claims, saying the majority of its Moranbah North workforce is residential.

A spokesperson claimed Anglo owns 240 houses and units in Moranbah and has an additional 414 rooms as the Grosvenor Village.

Anglo American is currently focused on developing two new coal mines – Grosvenor and Moranbah South.

Anglo CEO Cynthia Carroll recently visited Moranbah, and announced the plan which will provide $20 million in infrastructure for Moranbah as well as 2000 jobs.

Anglo is aiming to build more than 50 houses and units as an effort to increase miner numbers in Moranbah.

“We are committed to providing our employees with a choice of accommodation options that best suit their personal circumstances, including permanent housing in the Moranbah community,” she said.