Minister Tony Burke announces legislation to end labour hire loopholes

A private meeting in Queensland has revealed contracted coal miners are being knocked back from loans and car leases. Now a key Minister has vowed to fix it, despite a looming battle with mining giants.

A private meeting assuring anonymity has revealed contracted coal miners are being knocked back from loans and car leases while permanent workers doing the “exact same job” are not.

But the fight to close the labour hire loophole begins in earnest as Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke announced he will introduce new legislation to parliament in “a couple weeks’ time”.

Mr Burke, who met with miners in Mackay on Wednesday, said listening to their experiences under the “unfair” system made him more determined not to be cowed by what he anticipated would be the mining giants unleashing a multi-million dollar advertising counter campaign with support from the LNP.

Mr Bourke said he aimed to pass the watershed legislation, designed to enshrine Same Job Same Pay and level the playing field between permanent and contractor labourers, “this year”.

Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke during a press conference in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

“After my visit to Mackay (Wednesday) I am more determined than ever to get this done,” Mr Bourke said.

“It was raw and it was real.

“When you shake hands and look in the eye of somebody who is being underpaid and being underappreciated, you want to fix it for them.”

Mining companies are expected to push back against the proposed Same Job Same Pay reforms.

Labour hire loopholes and pay disparity has plagued the mining sector for decades, with many miners wary of speaking out for fear of losing their jobs.

Miners on Wednesday said they felt like “second class citizens”.

Mr Bourke said he would not say which companies employed the miners he spoke to at the Mining and Energy Union office on Milton St and did not take photos to ensure their anonymity.

“There’s a huge amount of frustration over it because the labour hire workers are getting lower pay and no job security,” Mr Bourke said.

“People gave examples of not being able to lease a car … or get a loan … and being paid less for doing the exact same job as the person working beside you.

“They thought it was unfair (and) felt the lack of security made it harder to speak out about all sorts of issues, even safety issues, and be taken seriously.

“(But) you’re in constant fear of backlash.

“You run the risk that if you speak up, you’re just not rostered on again.”

Mr Bourke had no doubt there was a public relations and political war to be waged when the legislation was brought to parliament.

Mining bosses across Queensland have said Same Job Same Pay reforms would add billions to their bottom line and lead to job losses, such as BHP Mitsubishi Alliance bosh Mauro Neves who said the company was making cuts to “future-proof” its business against shocks to productivity.

Mr Bourke said he welcomed bipartisan support from the LNP, but “every indication” so far was that “they intend to fight us”.

Senator Michaelia Cash during Question Time in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“There will be millions of dollars spent in advertising trying to stop me from fixing this,” he said.

“I would rather that the companies concerned spent less money on advertising and more money paying their workers.

“Ultimately, you fight back by changing the law.”

LNP spokesperson for workplace relations Michaelia Cash released a joint statement with Angus Taylor MP on Tuesday, blasting Labor for “pandering to their union paymasters”.

The release further claimed proposed changes like Same Job Same Pay would cost thousands of jobs and strip negotiation rights from labour hire workers.

“The job creators of this nation are extremely concerned about further radical industrial relations reforms which will make it harder and more expensive for them to do business,” Senator Cash said.