Hundreds of resources workers could leave their jobs to avoid relocating to a nearby town.
Mining mogul Chris Wallin fears up to 800 staff members could jump ship at QCoal’s Byerwen Coal Mine, 140km west of Mackay.
The founding managing director revealed his employees would rather resign instead of relocating from the existing accommodation camp to Glenden.
“It will take much more than moving our camp, and even trying to move our workforce, to live in the town. The fact is those workers will not move, they will leave QCoal and Byerwen rather than be forced to live in Glenden,” Wallin said according to News Limited.
“The workers drive-in and drive-out every seven days to do a job. They should not be forced to move to a town 40 minutes from the mine, adding up to two hours a day to their workday just so Labor can get the right headline. It is not safe and it is not fair.”
The remarks came after the Queensland Government decided workers should only stay at the camp until 2025, after which they will need to progressively move to Glenden until 2029.
This means the town’s 500 residents can remain despite Glencore closing its Newlands Coal Mine, 198km west of Mackay. Otherwise the settlement would have faced complete demolition because the company owns most of the properties and subsidises local suppliers.
However, Wallin does not believe Glenden offers more attractive conditions than the existing camp, which boasts free meals, rooms, a gym and wet bar.
“Glenden has no supermarket, no pharmacy, no newsagent, a newly appointed police officer who finishes work at 4pm,” he said according to the media outlet.
“Our 800 Byerwen mine workers live in regional Queensland already, they work seven day shifts at 12.5 hours a day and they like living in a camp. It is five minutes from the mine site … that is what they deserve after working so hard.”
