Mining & Energy Union

23/09/2026

Honoured to send off two titans of the Union movement at our Central Council last night. With this being the final meeting before Michael O'Connor and Michele O'Neil hang up their hats after decades of service to working people, we we sure to give them a warm MEU farewell.

In her role as ACTU President, Michele has overseen some of the greatest achievements of the union movement in decades, winning stronger rights for Unions and workers. Michele spoke of her deep respect for our Union, for MEU members, and for the work they do to keep Australia running.

Michael has been a close comrade of the MEU for the entirety of his Union career, standing shoulder-to-shoulder alongside our members and officials through some of our greatest challenges as a Union. He credited the MEU as being a yardstick for the movement, looked to for our moral compass, describing us as the safety lamp of the union movement, shining a light on what matters most.

We thank Michele and Michael for their tremendous sacrifices and dedication they've put into creating a better future for working Australians.

21/09/2026

Same coal seam. Same work. Same gear. But Ulan Underground workers are paid 11.5% less than workers at the mine next door.

Ulan Lodge President Matthew Purtle says Glencore can afford fair pay and secure, permanent jobs for people who live in the Mudgee region.

Instead, contractor numbers have surged while just 12 new permanent workers have been employed since the agreement expired two years ago.

Glencore makes enormous profits from Ulan. It’s time the company invested in the workers and community that generate its wealth.

✍️ Sign the petition for fair jobs and wages for Mudgee. Link in the comments.

20/09/2026

A few more beautiful photos from this year’s Northern District Memorial Day service.

It was wonderful to see so many members, families and friends come together to remember the Northern District mineworkers we have lost and stand alongside those whose lives have been forever changed.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this important day. 🕯️

18/09/2026

For 100 years, Mines Rescue has embodied the courage, professionalism and mateship at the heart of our industry.

When others run from danger, Mines Rescue steps forward to protect and save mineworkers.

Today we celebrate a century of Mines Rescue in NSW, and and honour the generations of rescuers whose dedication has helped ensure workers make it home safely.

17/09/2026

Stephen Endacott has worked at Ulan Underground for 37 years. He’s watched Glencore add 66 contractors in just 18 months, while employing only 12 new permanent workers since the Enterprise Agreement expired in September 2024.

Stephen is clear: the problem isn’t the contractors. They deserve the opportunity to become permanent employees, get a mortgage, buy a home and raise their families in the Mudgee region.

After two years of bargaining, paid 11.5% less than the mine next door, Ulan workers are still standing up for secure local jobs and fair wages.

✊ Sign the petition. Link in the comments.

17/09/2026

Ulan Lodge weekend shift workers met at Lawson Park today, standing together for secure jobs and fair wages at Ulan Underground.

While Glencore has flooded the mine with more out-of-town contractors, permanent workers remain paid 11.5% less than workers at Ulan West—less than two kilometres away, mining the same coal seam.

They've been bargaining for more than 2 years. The Ulan workforce is united, determined and ready to keep fighting for a fair agreement.

Back the workers and sign the petition (link in the comments)

16/09/2026

These Premier Coal workers have kept the mine running, powered Western Australia and generated enormous wealth for Yancoal.

Now, as the mine approaches closure, Yancoal are refusing to offer them a fair deal.

Workers deserve decent pay rises for the years they have left and ironclad protection of their redundancy entitlements when their jobs end. They should never be forced to choose between the two.

Premier workers are united, determined and moving towards protected industrial action.

It’s time for Yancoal to stop playing games and put a fair deal on the table.

✊ Fair pay. Secure entitlements. Respect for Premier workers.

16/09/2026

For almost two and a half years, Ulan Underground mineworkers have been fighting Glencore for a fair deal.
👉 https://www.megaphone.org.au/p/Ulan

They haven’t had a pay rise since March 2023 and are paid 11.5 per cent less than workers at Glencore’s Ulan West mine next door, owned by the same company and mining the same coal seam.

In December, the Fair Work Commission declared bargaining intractable, finding there was no reasonable prospect of agreement without its intervention. Glencore appealed, leaving workers stuck on wage rates set three and a half years ago.

And while Glencore drags out the dispute, it is flooding Ulan with out-of-town contractors.

Temporary contractor numbers have surged 44 per cent* in just 13 months.

The contractors aren’t the problem. They deserve secure jobs too. The problem is Glencore’s choice to rely on a transient workforce instead of creating permanent local jobs and paying its existing workers fairly.

Sign the petition and tell Glencore: employ more locals, offer contractors permanent jobs and pay Ulan workers fairly.

👉 https://www.megaphone.org.au/p/Ulan

Please sign and share.

Glencore extracts enormous wealth from Ulan, but the jobs created should provide lasting benefits for Mudgee. Temporary contractor numbers at Ulan Underground increased from 149 in July 2025 to 215 in August 2026—a rise of 44 per cent in 13 months. However, Glencore has employed only 12 new perman...

15/09/2026

On Sunday of last weekend, mineworkers, families and members of our community gathered at the Jim Comerford Memorial Wall for the MEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy District’s 29th Annual Memorial Day Service.

Together, we honoured the 1,794 men, women and children who have lost their lives in the Northern District coalfields over more than two centuries.

Behind every name on the wall is a person who went to work and never came home—and a family, workplace and community forever changed by their loss.

Thank you to the families, members, community representatives and supporters who joined us for this deeply important day of remembrance.

We remember them. We honour them. And we recommit ourselves to ensuring every mineworker returns home safely at the end of every shift.

14/09/2026

Our thoughts are with the mineworker who remains in a critical condition following a serious incident at Crinum underground mine on Saturday.

Initial information from the Queensland mines inspectorate indicates the worker fell while carrying out work on a pressurised air pipeline system. The driftrunner then moved and made contact with him, causing serious injuries.

Operations at both Crinum and Gregory have been suspended while the incident is investigated.

This is a deeply distressing incident for the worker, his family and everyone at the mine. We wish him strength and the best possible recovery.

The incident is also a sobering reminder of the serious risks associated with stored energy, working at height and mobile equipment. Every worker must have the time, equipment and effective controls needed to perform every task safely.