Queensland District Secretary Jim Valery has warned the company that any extension of 12-hour shifts "poses a direct threat to coal miners health and safety".
The Union's warning comes as BHP has released a document on fatigue control policy that addresses measures that may be needed to spin support for extended shifts to between 14-16 hours.
"There is no way we can accept that coal miners working 14-16 hour shifts for up to 14 consecutive days is anything but a serious health and safety hazard", says Jim Valery.
District Check Inspector Tim Whyte has called on BHP to remove extended 14-16 hour shifts from its policy document. "It the company says it has no plans to introduce such dangerously extended shifts, then why provide for it in its documents?", he asks.
"Our Union recognises that there will be exceptional circumstances where longer shifts are needed, but this latest BHP standard says it is ok to do 14-hours for 14 days straight", said Jim Valery.
Coal mineworkers on the job are equally concerned that there is a hidden agenda to force them onto extended shifts.
Work at BHP's Central Queensland mines stopped for seven hours last week after the Union's safety and health representative found the fatigue management standards were unsafe.
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