"Harlem Shake" Miners Edition Leads to Workers Getting 'Sacked' in Australia [WATCH]: Viral YouTube Dance Video gets Miners Fired Down Under

By Lauren Cortez | Mar 04, 2013 01:31 PM EST

The "Harlem Shake" craze costs Aussies their jobs when they shake it underground "Down Under."

Several miners in Australia were fired from their jobs after filming a "Harlem Shake" video underground, a performance that the owners of the Agnew gold mine, based in Perth, apparently considered unsafe, The Associated Press and Reuters reported.

Like thousands of others shaking things up across the nation with their own versions of the "Harlem Shake," the miners joined the craze and posted their video on YouTube. It shows eight miners wearing safety gear doing the convulsive dance underground on their job site. The West Australian newspaper quoted an unnamed worker who said at least 15 miners were fired, including some who watched the dance but did not take part. The worker said the miners were only "having a bit of fun."

Barminco, the mine owner, was not amused by the workers' video. In a letter quoted by the paper, it said the stunt breached its "core values of safety, integrity and excellence."

The workers told The West Australian that they were not endangering safety, pointing out that helmets were worn throughout. The sackings in Australia sparked an online debate with a Facebook page set up to call for the reinstatement of the "sacked WA Harlem Shake Miners".

The New York Times summarizes the Harlem shake for those still unsure about the viral craze:

The Harlem Shake is a dance song by a Brooklyn producer named Baauer that mixes a hip-hop beat, Dutch house synth riffs, a rap sample, animal noises and some sub-woofer bass sounds. It became the basis of a viral YouTube fad after an amateur comedian named Filthy Frank posted a dance video using the first 30 seconds of the track; thousands of others have posted similar videos, from a Norwegian Army battalion to a group of Playboy models.

According to the AP, The song "Harlem Shake," is currently No.2 on the Australian singles chart." The fired Australian minors will most likely no longer be able to listen to the track that got them sacked in their huge blunder Down Under.

Watch the video that got the Australians sacked here:

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

DON'T MISS

MOST SHARED