The Mining And Energy Union Podcast
The Mining & Energy Union fights for our members in coal and metals mining and power generation around Australia. Our members work hard, play a crucial role in Australia’s economy, support their communities and have a proud tradition of standing up for safety and workers’ rights.
Hosted by Tim Brunero, this podcast features news, interviews, historical features and inside stories keeping you up to the minute with our activities, challenges and successes - as well as the stories from our past that form the bedrock of what the union is today.
- Update frequency
- every 27 days
- Average duration
- 18 minutes
- Episodes
- 67
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Fighting dodgy conditions at Carmichael
Members at arguably the most famous coal mine in Australia - the Carmichael open cut in Queensland - feel dudded. Not only is the pay terrible but safety and COVID procedures are pretty crook too. An…
00:11:27 |
Fri 27 May 2022
Capricornia Needs a Coal Miner in Canberra
Third generation coal miner, Moranbah local and Labor Party candidate for the seat of Capricornia Russell Robertson talks about ‘Same Job, Same Pay’, the betrayal of coal miners by the Nats and One N…
00:15:13 |
Mon 02 May 2022
Same Job Same Pay
This Federal election, the Mining and Energy Union is campaigning for Same Job Same Pay laws to end the pay discrimination between labour hire coal miners and permanent employees. Labor’s Shadow Indu…
00:13:27 |
Wed 30 Mar 2022
Vale ‘Living legend of the Illawarra’ Fred Moore
Unionists in the Illawarra are celebrating the life of Mining and Energy Union life member Fred Moore - who passed in January - just nine months short of his 100th birthday. Fred started mining at 14…
00:30:46 |
Mon 21 Mar 2022
Straight shooter Dan standing up for Hunter miners
It’s time to get excited if you live in Cessnock, Muswellbrook or Singleton because you get to vote for a coal miner at the coming Federal Election. Five time Olympian and Mining & Energy Union membe…
00:11:02 |
Tue 08 Feb 2022
Why have Alabama coal miners been on strike since April?
Working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day might seem crazy but for 1,100 Alabama coal miners it’s their reality. They’ve been on strike since April Fool’s Day - but this is no joke - the faceless private…
00:19:20 |
Fri 24 Dec 2021
Grosvenor Lodge Rises From Ashes
The horrific burns suffered by five members in Anglo American’s Grosvenor mine in May last year were avoidable. The company had been warned many times about safety issues. Now members have taken matt…
00:14:20 |
Thu 25 Nov 2021
Pilbara Train Drivers Get Organised
Iron ore train drivers in the Pilbara are exhausted. They’ve borne the brunt of a sector booming in the middle of a pandemic - leaving some stuck over east chewing up leave and some doing double the …
00:22:32 |
Thu 28 Oct 2021
The Centenary of Queensland’s Worst Mining Disaster - Mt Mulligan
On this day in 1921 75 miners at Mt Mulligan in Far North Queensland never returned home from work. The town lost three quarters of its men that day. On this episode you’ll meet some of the men invol…
00:11:16 |
Sat 18 Sep 2021
Decades of struggle behind Queensland’s biggest coal Agreement Part 2 of 2
The BHP Central Agreement is the biggest and most comprehensive agreement in the Queensland coalfields.
As negotiations get underway for the next deal, we look back at the 40+ year history of blues…
00:35:18 |
Thu 19 Aug 2021
Decades of struggle behind Queensland’s biggest coal Agreement - Part 1 of 2
The BHP Central Agreement is the biggest and most comprehensive agreement in the Queensland coalfields.
As negotiations get underway for the next deal, we look at back at the 40+ year history of bl…
00:20:09 |
Sat 24 Jul 2021
How to recruit union members
What do union delegates do when a member comes to them with a problem? And how do they approach prospective members regarding joining up? We find out.
00:17:24 |
Sat 19 Jun 2021
Can a coal miner win the Upper Hunter by-election?
Northern Mining and NSW Energy Vice President Jeff Drayton has thrown his hat in the ring for the crucial 22 May Upper Hunter by-election in NSW. He explains why he’s running and the first thing he’l…
00:16:01 |
Thu 13 May 2021
The woman who beat a mining giant with a bottle of water
In 1963 one woman took down a massive mining company armed only with a bottle of water. This is her story.
00:13:56 |
Tue 04 May 2021
Sailor, Brownie, Captain, Red: Remembering our pit ponies
The WA Coal Mining Industry is centred on the town of Collie in the South West of the state - the local mines and power stations have been keeping the lights on in WA for generations.
Collie Coal Mi…
00:13:10 |
Tue 30 Mar 2021
Women Workplace Leaders
Mining and energy industries have traditionally been among the most male-dominated in Australia.
But women’s numbers have been growing in our workplaces and importantly, in the Union. There are now…
00:14:13 |
Mon 08 Mar 2021
Russell Coight To The Rescue
Nic’s 200 tonne truck burst into flame underneath him one winter’s day back in 2018, and he was lucky to escape with just a few burns. He relives the story and we work out what we can learn from the …
00:10:01 |
Wed 17 Feb 2021
How are Enterprise Agreements made?
How do good EAs get made? And what about bad ones? Find out how labour hire companies use dodgy EAs to remove members’ right to strike and deny them permanent jobs & proper pay.
00:27:01 |
Thu 21 Jan 2021
How can union activists get the best possible outcome in the workplace?
We are going to end the year on the podcast with some inspiration from union legend, Tom McDonald on how to win a blue.
00:12:01 |
Wed 30 Dec 2020
How was the ‘Battle of Boggabri’ won?
It's been 1 year since Christmas came early for members at Boggabri Coal. In the winter of 2019 they’d had enough of the mine owner’s attempts to drive down wages & conditions. So they began 4 months…
00:15:49 |
Thu 17 Dec 2020
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