And it appears the last two may be re-employed in the next intake, another worker reported yesterday.

Management told him those men would be offered jobs in the next intake, he said.

The men, who had been working for Thiess CM2-Hill and Bell Harsco, were sacked because of a dispute between contractors and project management.

Their dismissals had nothing to do with any industrial action on their part, they said.

The bosses’ action was purely a result of a dispute between their employers.

CM2-Hill executive Phil Schoenecke said yesterday he did not know if the last two would be re-employed.

“But that could be true. We had an intake today.”

There had been technical problems with the job specifications but now it had gone out to the sub-contractor. “He is bringing people back,” Mr Schoenecke said.

A circular summarising the dispute from the men’s point of view said:

“Disputes between management should be sorted out between management.

“Workers should not take the blame for internal management issues and should not be left to bear the brunt of mismanagement before Christmas.

“The painting has been mismanaged from the start of the project, with no properly trained supervisors and no properly trained quality assurance/quality control staff.

“With 18 months of painting work still to go, why have these workers been laid off just before Christmas?

“Why have they not been offered immediate re-employment with other painting contractors?

“Laying off south-west and Collie workers has a big effect on the community and the local economy.

“This was seen when other Worsley contractors started laying off locals and keeping fly in-fly out staff. Again the local community is being overlooked by Worsley management.”

Some of the men have got their jobs back and some are working fly in-fly out in the north, another worker said.

Other local workers are still out in the cold while Queenslanders have been hired and are working on a fly in-fly out basis, one said.

Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray was asked to intervene

and said he had been hammering Worsley as the principle contractor.

But the argument was “getting a bit technical now” because all but two or the men had got their jobs back or found other emp