Miners fired for underground 'Harlem Shake' video
PERTH, Australia (AP) - Up to 15 miners were fired from their high-paying jobs in an Australian gold mine after a "Harlem Shake" performance underground was deemed a safety hazard, a newspaper reported on Monday.
A YouTube video shows eight miners wearing safety gear while performing the convulsive dance in the Agnew Gold Mine last week. The West Australian newspaper quoted a sacked worker who wouldn't give his name as saying up to 15 people were fired, including some who watched the performance but did not participate.
Mine owner Barminco considered the stunt a safety issue and a breach of its "core values of safety, integrity and excellence," according to a dismissal letter cited by the paper.
The letter noted that Barminco would not allow the dancing workers "to be subcontracted by Barminco at any site domestically and globally."
It's not clear from the video what safety issues are raised. The dancing miners wear helmets, but five are shirtless. The sacked worker told the newspaper that shirts had been removed to ensure the Barminco name did not appear in the video.
Barminco, which has operations in Africa as well as its native Australia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Australia is experiencing a mining boom, with thousands of workers attracted by high salaries to remote Outback mines. The West Australian said the miners who lost their jobs had six-figure salaries.
The unnamed worker who spoke to the newspaper said the miners were only "having a bit of fun." A Facebook page set up seeking their reinstatement carried comments supporting the workers as well as people saying safety regulations should be obeyed.
Paddy Gorman, spokesman for the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union, said none of the miners at Agnew Gold Mine in resource-rich Western Australia state is a member of the mining union.
Up to 4,000 videos of "Harlem Shake" variations are uploaded on the Internet daily. The song "Harlem Shake," recorded by Brooklyn disc jockey and producer Baauer, is currently No.2 on the Australian singles chart.
A YouTube video shows eight miners wearing safety gear while performing the convulsive dance in the Agnew Gold Mine last week. The West Australian newspaper quoted a sacked worker who wouldn't give his name as saying up to 15 people were fired, including some who watched the performance but did not participate.
Mine owner Barminco considered the stunt a safety issue and a breach of its "core values of safety, integrity and excellence," according to a dismissal letter cited by the paper.
The letter noted that Barminco would not allow the dancing workers "to be subcontracted by Barminco at any site domestically and globally."
It's not clear from the video what safety issues are raised. The dancing miners wear helmets, but five are shirtless. The sacked worker told the newspaper that shirts had been removed to ensure the Barminco name did not appear in the video.
Barminco, which has operations in Africa as well as its native Australia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Australia is experiencing a mining boom, with thousands of workers attracted by high salaries to remote Outback mines. The West Australian said the miners who lost their jobs had six-figure salaries.
The unnamed worker who spoke to the newspaper said the miners were only "having a bit of fun." A Facebook page set up seeking their reinstatement carried comments supporting the workers as well as people saying safety regulations should be obeyed.
Paddy Gorman, spokesman for the Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union, said none of the miners at Agnew Gold Mine in resource-rich Western Australia state is a member of the mining union.
Up to 4,000 videos of "Harlem Shake" variations are uploaded on the Internet daily. The song "Harlem Shake," recorded by Brooklyn disc jockey and producer Baauer, is currently No.2 on the Australian singles chart.
That's the nice thing about the Harlem Shake:Â Even crappy-dancing white guys can do it.
Seriously though, I don't see why this should get these guys fired. It's not like they were using any heavy equipment or explosives to make the video. If you think about it, the company's media spokesmen might have gotten creative and parlayed this video into good PR for their company.. but they blew the opportunity.
Really, some businesses are so uptight. Geez, think of your poor working slobs in a hole most of the day. If the managers were so upset, why weren't they down there supervising?
That looks like one NASTY place to work. I sure wouldn't want to be in those conditions for 8-10 hours a day! Maybe these guys are lucky they got canned and can look for a cleaner, better place to make a living!
first of all it isnt the real Harlem shake,it looks more like the retarded harlem shake...
         Looks like a miner on the left side of the screen had a safety violation with one of those orange safety cones.Why would anyone ever want an Aussie miner as partner?Wambamover & out.
I don't understand the craze associated with the Harlem Shake.........Now if it were a Stawberry Shake, I'd get it.
Oh come on. It was just a bit of fun. I can't see any safety violations there.
@RalphCramden Obviously you have never enjoyed the pleasures of an inguinal hernia!
In other news, Barminco has zero sense of humor.
Anyone who dances like that should be fired!
@swimbad I haven't liked any dance since The Charleston.Â
@Kushfan @swimbad The Charleston was great. So was (I thought anyway) The jitterbug. It comes from an early 20th-century slang for alcoholics who suffered from the "jitters" (i.e., delirium  > I had to do a quick copy and paste on this!
Really the guys try to burn off a little steam and do some team building activities and they get fired? I would think living in a hole half your walking hours would be enough to make anybody get a little goofy...
@FreedomRocks Yeah, it's a shame they have rules for safety that should apparently just be blown off for fun.
@therandomroger @FreedomRocks What, exactly, were those safety rules?  According to the story, the rule violations were never identified.
@WendyTeagarden @Emi-Lynn "Thou shalt not pull toffee and call it dancing".Â
@Emi-Lynn "Thou shalt not dance"