CFMEU: Accident pay provisions confirmed by Full Bench of Fair Work Commission

Coal mineworkers have had welcome news, now that the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has published their decision and reasons for decision in regard to the coal industry Award's Accident Pay provisions.

Yesterday's release of the decision is the result of years of hard work by our union to remove the ‘sunset clause’ from the accident pay provisions.

Our accident pay standards are now secure and here to stay as part of the core conditions of the coal mining industry. Accident make-up pay will continue to be a feature of our conditions with the employer required to “top up” Workers Compensation payments to the level the worker would normally have earned if they were not off work due to a workplace injury or illness.

Our accident pay scheme provides for the most generous level of protection of any Award based scheme – with 78-weeks coverage, compared with 52-or-26 weeks in other industries.

All Union Officials and Lodges should ensure that the removal of the ‘sunset clause’ should be repeated in all Enterprise Agreements.