University graduates invited to work with Glencore

Vaughan Harris has just become the first Tjiwarl community member to complete an apprenticeship with Liontown (ASX: LTR) at its Kathleen Valley lithium operations.Mr Harris grew up in Leonora and completed his final years of high school at the Cunderdin College of Agriculture. He started his electrical trade at 23 which led him to complete his apprenticeship.Mr Harris reflects on the historic moment in the Liontown partnership with the Tjiwarl community.“Being the first Tjiwarl apprentice to complete an apprenticeship here at Liontown feels exciting,” he said.“I hope it shows other Tjiwarl members, and even non-members, that it’s absolutely possible to complete an apprenticeship with Liontown’s support and the support of the community.”Mr Harris will relocate to Karratha with his wife, Cate, and daughter Aurora.“I hope to keep expanding my electrical knowledge, taking up extra courses and training,” he said.“When I get to Karratha, I’m hoping to start out in the rail side of things, which interests me most, but whatever I end up doing will likely be new to me, and that’s exciting in itself.”Liontown continues to partner closely with Tjiwarl to provide meaningful employment and training opportunities.

300 jobs on the line at Australia’s largest power station Negotiations between Origin Energy and Centennial Coal over a coal supply contract for the Myuna mine in NSW have stalled after Origin put forward a short-term proposal that fails to secure the future of the mine or its workforce.The dispute comes after Origin announced it would extend the life of Eraring power station until at least 2029 to support the electricity grid as the station moves towards retirement.Origin Energy proposed a new 12 month extension of the mines operations, maintaining their current agreements, which Centennial rejected on the grounds of being commercially unviable.The mine employs about 300 direct staff, along with hundreds more across the supply chain in Lake Macquarie and the Hunter region.Myuna Colliery was built solely to supply coal to Origin’s Eraring power station and without a viable contract, faces an uncertain future.Federal Member for Hunter Dan Repacholi says Myuna was built to supply Eraring and there is no alternative market.“Origin’s offer yesterday was disgraceful,” he said.“It was spin, not a solution.  A short-term, take-it-or-leave-it proposal that provides no certainty for workers, their families or the local community is not good enough.“If Origin walks away, this mine closes and that is a deliberate commercial choice, not an unavoidable part of the energy transition.”Community anger and concern continue to grow, with strong local campaigns backed by unions pushing for Origin to take responsibility for the future of the mine and its workers.Origin energy supply and operations head Greg Jarvis says the offer provides Centennial time to implement employee support initiatives as part of the Energy Industry Jobs Plan that the Net Zero Economy Authority is currently finalising, along with other state and federal government support.“Eraring plays an important role in keeping the lights on for NSW households and businesses, and we are committed to operating it reliably through to its scheduled closure in April 2029,” he said.“However, it is extremely disappointing to see workforce related issues being brought into our commercial negotiations with Centennial. We remain of the view that Centennial’s focus should be on helping its workers prepare for their futures through the energy transition.“We’ve stepped up and demonstrated how we’re supporting our people as we approach Eraring’s retirement, and we now need Centennial to come to the table and confirm its support for its workforce through this transition period.“We believe workers and the community deserve greater transparency from Centennial Coal on how it will support them through the full implementation of the Energy Industry Jobs Plan, if the Net Zero Economy Authority recommends it be required.”

Workers at Glencore’s refinery in Townsville have threatened to walk off the job this Friday if wage negotiations remain unresolved.Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement (EA) started March 25 last year before stalling amid uncertainty around the July 2025 closure of Mount Isa’s underground copper operations. Talks later resumed after the Federal and Queensland Government committed $600m to continue operations at the smelter and support its workers.This week, the Australian Workers Union (AWU) gave notice that members will be partaking in protected industrial action if the issues are not settled at a bargaining meeting scheduled for tomorrow.AWU northern district secretary Jim Wilson says Glencore is paying workers almost 15% less than neighbouring sites for the same work.“It’s simply unacceptable,” he said.“The Townsville community is sick of billionaires profiting from our town and leaving nothing but the crumbs for workers and their families.”The Queensland Electrical Trades Union (ETU) says across three EA meetings held since the bailout announcement, Glencore failed to make any meaningful movement.A Glencore spokesperson says the company has been engaging with copper refinery workers about the new EA for more than 12 months.“Glencore has tabled a competitive package which includes a salary increase over four years and we will continue to negotiate in good faith to get an agreement,” they said.“Despite securing a government funding package last year, the refinery is expected to continue losing money.“This political grandstanding from the unions is not helpful and undermines the constructive engagement to date with local EA bargaining representatives.”According to ETU, Glencore was offering wage increases of 6.9-10.4% across four years based on individual performance at the discretion of the company, saying this fell behind rising living costs and citing Australia’s consumer price index (CPI) of 3.8% per annum.Glencore publicly rejected these comments, reporting it tabled a 13% salary increase across four years.AWU Queensland secretary Stacey Schinnerl says the wage offer that Glencore has put on the table doesn’t meet the rising cost of living pressures faced by workers and their families.“We have a bargaining meeting on Thursday where we hope Glencore will finally come to the table to sort this out. The message to Glencore is clear, we won’t accept you short-changing our members.”

A subcontractor has died following a light vehicle incident at Vault Minerals’ (ASX: VAU) King of the Hills (KoTH) mine site yesterday morning.Vault said operations at KoTH were voluntarily suspended yesterday to allow WA Police and the WA Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS) to carry out site investigations. Operations are expected to resume today.The deceased was an employee of DeltaFM, a subcontractor engaged by the catering contractor at the site.According to Vault, the worker was a passenger in a light vehicle travelling on a 40km/h section of the site access road when the vehicle left the road.The driver sustained minor injuries and is receiving medical treatment.Vault said the incident was reported to WA Police and the WA LGIRS and the company is assisting with their respective investigations.