Mining & Energy Union

Our delegates' training programs give your workplace reps the knowledge and confidence to better support all MEU members in the workplace.

In five days over two sessions, delegates learn new skills, share experiences and work through common challenges. After completing the five-day course, delegates can undertake refresher training in subsequent years to keep their skills up to date.

Have you participated in MEU delegates' training? What did you get out of it?

The NSW Resources Regulator has released a safety alert following a serious incident in which a worker was trapped between ventilation doors during a planned ventilation change at an underground coal mine. The worker suffered significant injuries after a door unexpectedly closed under pressure.

Tragically, this is not the first time workers have been seriously injured by ventilation infrastructure. In 2019, a Queensland ERZ Controller suffered permanent disabling injuries after being trapped by an airlock door for more than five hours when a high-pressure differential caused the door to slam shut. Investigations found long-standing concerns about the airlock design and pressure hazards had not been adequately addressed.

The latest NSW safety alert identifies familiar themes: inadequate procedures, uncontrolled line-of-fire risks, improvised methods for securing doors, and insufficient planning for the forces acting on ventilation infrastructure. It recommends formal procedures, engineered securing methods, defined exclusion zones and thorough risk assessments before this work is undertaken.

Incidents like this are a reminder that no job is routine when critical controls are missing. Safe systems of work, proper planning and the ability for workers to speak up about hazards are not optional—they save lives.

We encourage all SSHRs and delegates to read the alert, discuss it with your workmates and ensure the necessary controls are in place before similar work is carried out at your mine.

Everyone deserves to go home in the same condition they came to work.