The CFMEU has attacked BHP Billiton and Xstrata for plans to sack 900 staff, saying workers were paying for management's mistakes.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union general secretary (mining) Mr Andrew Vickers said that neither of the mining giants had consulted workers or the union before announcing their plans on Monday.

He said that companies had been conned into thinking Chinese double-digit economic growth would go on indefinitely and expanded the coal industry too rapidly.

He told AAP that “This is an absolutely typical reaction from coal mining companies, when either the price cycle or demand cycle comes off the boil.”

“They sack our people, our members. Get rid of jobs that's their answer to every problem. These blokes are paid millions of dollars each year to make these big decisions, they make them and we clean up the mess and they leave at the end of it.”

Nearly 300 coal miners have lost their jobs after BHP Billiton announced it would stop production at its Queensland Gregory open-cut mine.

Xstrata Coal will cut 600 jobs in response to falling coal prices and the high Australian dollar.

Source - www.skynews.com.au

(www.coalguru.com)