FAMILIES of Griffin Coal workers have spoken out on the impact the proposed 43 per cent pay cuts will have on their lives.
At a community meeting attended by over 250 people on Tuesday night, family members spoke about the cuts.
At the meeting it was announced that AMWU members employed by Griffin Coal will commence a 24 hour stoppage on Friday June 24 at 5.30am, in support of their claim for a replacement enterprise agreement.
Community meeting organiser and wife of a Griffin employee Leonie Scoffern said the effect on the community is her biggest concern.
“We are getting a 43 per cent pay cut and there are a lot of people this will impact on their mortgage repayments, and it has been suggested they could lose their homes,” she said.
“The knock-on effect in the community, with the seven days on and three days off, seven nights of working straight, with four days off, the impact with the dads, they can’t turn up to the local soccer match, we won’t have coaches, and we won’t have the dads in the community.”
“I know my kids will miss their dad, there’s lots of kids that will miss their dads.”
Carys Golding’s husband works for Griffin Coal and she said the cuts will make it almost impossible for them and their three children to be able to live off.
“The decision to cut their wages by 43 per cent basically means that we can’t afford to live,” she said.
“Our insurances, mortgage repayments and everything else have to be paid.”
“We have a car loan as well, by the time all of that comes out of our bank I think we are left with absolutely nothing, so we can’t buy food.
Mrs Golding said they have built a life around their single income from Griffin, that will be difficult to sustain if the cuts come into effect.
“We waited a long time and saved up to buy a house once my husband was out working at Griffin,” she said.
“You live to your means and our means are being taken away.”
“If we had to I would consider moving away from Collie, but how am I going to move, we won’t be able to sell our house.
“Most of the other families are in the same boat, every day I wake up in the morning and think what am I going to do, and every night before I go to bed I think ‘what am I going to do’?”
“How do I not let this affect my children?”
Mrs Golding, who is currently studying registered nursing said the cuts will have a knock-on impact on other sectors in Collie.
“We are currently living on the one income, I only pick up a few shifts every now and then because I am studying at the moment,” she said.
Collie resident Rhonda Roberts said the cuts would impact Collie’s social, economic and employment opportunities.
It's not so much the money that will affect us, it's more the point that that roster that they want them to work seven days, three days off and then seven nights and four days off, “ she said.
“If it's your husband out there he's not going to see the kids and what they're doing in school or their concerts or sporting achievements, they will miss out on an awful lot and it’s putting a lot of pressure onto us as well.
“Community wise, there goes your sporting coaches because they'll be at work, there are other people who volunteer like the Men's Shed and things like that, everything is going to suffer.
“If people decide to leave, well then teachers are going to start losing jobs because numbers have dropped, shops will close because there is no one there to buy anything. It's just really rough.”
Mrs Roberts said her family will be faced with numerous challenges if the changes go through.
“My eldest will be doing her ATAR next year, how are we going to pay for her to be doing what really should be given to her,” she said.
“It's little things like that, even like our youngest with special needs, we've got to get her to Busselton once a fortnight for counselling, and the disability services give you money to pay for that service but you have to make your own way down there.
“We were actually looking into joining her up for special olympics training but we're not going to be able to afford to that because you have to travel to Bunbury twice a week for something like that.
Mrs Roberts said the cuts would place a strain on households across Collie including her own.
“You look at running an entire household and everything else is going up like the cost of living has gone up so much,” she said.
“What do you start doing - Switching off the lights? Don't go shopping for food? Don't pay your water bill? If they start cutting wages, you're going to rely a lot more on the government.”
