BHP faces off with Mining and Energy Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union in landmark case
Payrises of up to $40,000 could be on the cards for more than 1600 BHP labour hire workers if the unions are successful in a landmark legal battle being heard in Brisbane.
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Payrises of up to $40,000 could be on the cards for more than 1600 BHP labour hire workers across three Queensland Bowen Basin mines if the unions are successful in a landmark legal battle being heard in Brisbane.
Mining giant BHP is fighting the Mining and Energy Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union in the Fair Work Commission, claiming they should not be subjected to the newly introduced “same job, same pay” federal laws at their Queensland coal mines.
The Mining and Energy Union will argue that BHP labour hire mine workers do the exact same jobs as BHP’s direct employees but are paid far less under the labour hire system.
BHP is arguing that its Operation Services business is a service contractor engaged by BHP assets to deliver set scopes of work focussed in specific areas of expertise and is its own separate entity, with its own management structure, business strategies, policies, procedures, and training.
It will also be arguing that unlike labour hire, its work is to deliver a service and a performance-based outcome, not to supply labour.
Speaking ahead of the start of the hearing in Brisbane yesterday, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus said big businesses in the country should not have access to “wage cutting schemes”.
“We do not want to let big business in this country have access to wage cutting schemes to cut wages, and if they have access to them, they will abuse them for sure,” she said.
The legal action follows the introduction of the “same job, same pay” laws by the Federal Government to stop companies using labour hire as a loophole to undercut wages in established enterprise agreements.
The legal proceedings could affect more than 1600 BHP labour hire workers across three Queensland Bowen Basin mines, with workers in line for annual pay rises of between $10,000 and $40,000 to match the pay of permanent employees if the Fair Work Commission makes orders to regulate labour hire arrangements.
However, the Minerals Council of Australia told its members the Albanese government had broken its promise to exclude service contractors from being captured by the “same job, same pay” laws, as reported in The Australian newspaper.
The MCA said Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt “does not now believe” the Albanese government’s laws exempt service contractors from being paid the same as directly employed workers, arguing his position was a “substantial departure from the assurances given by the previous minister (Tony Burke) at the time of the parliamentary debate”.
During the first day of the hearing, barrister Andrew Pollock, representing BHP, questioned mineworkers on whether their training was in line with what was required of full-time employees.
In a statement, a BHP spokesman said its Operations Service business was its own entity and provided an opportunity that was seen as desirable by employees and job applicants.
“Operations Services has created more than 4000 permanent, high-paid jobs, with access to training and development, job security, and the opportunity to grow,” the spokesman said.
“With more than 200,000 job applications, it’s clear the Operation Services employee proposition is compelling and competitive.”
Ms McManus said the case was “a really important legal case today on behalf of working people”.
“BHP made an annual profit in the last financial year of $20.2 billion dollars,” she said.
“The only barrier to BHP paying workers fairly is the corporation’s own greed.
“Whether it’s Qantas or BHP, Australian unions are determined to stamp out exploitative labour hire practices; it is not okay to use loopholes to pay workers less by outsourcing labour.”
Mining and Energy Union general secretary, Grahame Kelly and Queensland Council of Unions general secretary, Jacqueline King were also at the hearing to support the case.
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