Iron ore giants to face Fair Work Commission amid rise of the unions

The Electrical Trades Union has signed up hundreds of workers at key BHP and Rio Tinto operations, in a shake-up of the Pilbara’s industrial relations landscape.

A flooded electrical substation at BHP's iron ore operations. Picture: Supplied

The Electrical Trades Union says it has made huge inroads in signing up members at the BHP and Rio Tinto iron ore operations in Western Australia, and that it intends to force the mining giants into collective bargaining via the Fair Work Commission.

The successful ETU recruitment drive is part of union attempts to regain an influence in the iron ore industry after decades on the sidelines. Forcing BHP and Rio into collective bargaining would represent a major shift in the industrial relations landscape.

Miners have raised alarms the rise of the unions poses a threat to a highly prosperous era of industrial peace in the Pilbara, just as Chinese demand for iron ore comes off its peak.

BHP iron ore president Tim Day said working directly with employees rather than collective bargaining through unions had been critical to the success of the company’s world-leading business in WA.

The ETU said on Thursday it would file majority support petitions covering key BHP and Rio operations with the Fair Work Commission next week.

The union will seek to establish it has the backing of a majority of workers in BHP port and rail operations and the high voltage division. A FWC ruling in the ETU’s favour will force BHP into collective bargaining with the union.

The ETU also appears to have signed up a majority of Rio’s signals technicians. The ETU said the company had reacted to its recruitment success by offering the workers pay rises of $20,000 to $40,000 per year in acknowledgment they were “undervalued”.

Rio declined to comment on the pay rise claim.

The ETU has increased the size of its membership at BHP by more than 500 per cent since 2023 and by more than 300 per cent at Rio. It now has more than 500 members across the two companies with skills vital to iron ore supply chains after starting from a low base. Workers do not have to be union members to vote in support of collective bargaining.

ETU WA state secretary Adam Woodage said BHP and Rio had not wanted to acknowledge the changing reality of union membership in the Pilbara and the need to engage in collective bargaining.

“Since December, the ETU has engaged in discussions with both Rio and BHP seeking to take a constructive approach by encouraging them to acknowledge that we hold a majority of their workforce in key areas,” he said.

“Our members in these areas have expressed a clear desire to enter into bargaining for an enterprise agreement with the ETU representing their industrial interests.

“Despite our efforts to extend an olive branch and work cooperatively, nearly three months have passed and neither company has taken steps to commence the bargaining process. Given their inaction, the ETU has been left with no choice but to file majority support petitions with the FWC.”

Mr Day said BHP employed more than 14,000 people in WA in sought after, well-paid and secure jobs.

Unions have declared victory on a recruitment drive to sign up workers from BHP and Rio Tinto. Picture: William West/AFP

“Working directly with our employees has been critical to the success of our world-leading WA iron ore business and in offering best-in-industry salaries and conditions,” he said.

“This has been a tried and tested approach that has delivered stability, rewarded effort, and made our Pilbara operations a harmonious and productive work environment for the past 20 years, one we’re committed to continuing.”

The ETU move comes as two other unions — the Mining and Energy Union (MEU) and the Australian Workers Union (AWU) — campaign for Rio workers to sign a majority support petition to initiate bargaining at the Paraburdoo iron ore mine. If successful, it will be the first majority support determination at a major Pilbara iron ore mine in more than 20 years.

The ETU and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union were the first unions to seize on an opening at BHP’s South Flank and Mining Area C operations, which allowed them to initiate bargaining unilaterally under the Albanese government’s industrial relations changes.

The unions were able to bypass the majority support process under the new laws, which allowed them to trigger enterprise agreement negotiations within five years of an agreements' nominal expiry date.

Mr Woodage said that in the case of BHP’s port and rail operations the ETU had majority support across the electricians and fitters who carry out vital maintenance work and only recently showed their importance by getting exports back on track after cyclonic rain flooded key infrastructure.

The ETU numbers show it has the support of 380 workers in a division BHP has said employs about 700 staff. In BHP’s high voltage division, the ETU claims 48 of about 60 workers.

Asked about the rise in ETU membership, Mr Woodage said it appeared workers had had a “gut full” on inconsistent pay rates and roster uncertainty.

“I think they’ve just had a gut full of being told how and what and when to work, and not actually having an operational industrial instrument with all the terms and conditions clearly spelled out,” he said.

Mr Woodage said there could be differences of tens of thousands of dollars in what workers in the same divisions were paid, depending on when they started at BHP and Rio.

“What we’ve been seeking is parity for all the workers, guaranteed pay increases and locking in rosters so the employers, no matter which three-letter company — Rio, BHP, FMG (Fortescue) or Roy (Roy Hill) — can’t continually make unilateral changes to roster patterns and turn people’s lives upside down.”

The ETU said it had signed up 35 of about 60 workers employed as signals technicians by Rio.

The Western Mine Workers Alliance, a partnership between the MEU and AWU, has accused Rio of a scare campaign which includes telling workers signing enterprise bargaining agreements will make mining unviable.

BHP chief executive Mike Henry warned last month that the outcome of union attempts to regain a foothold in the iron ore industry would have a big bearing on whether it pulls the trigger on a potential multi-billion investment in boosting production in the Pilbara

Originally published as Iron ore giants to face Fair Work Commission amid rise of the unions