Union accuses Glencore of ‘betrayal’ as workers plan strike over pay offer
Townsville’s copper refinery workers are pushing for industrial action over pay offers they’ve labelled “insulting”, just two months after they “stood shoulder to shoulder” with Glencore to secure a $600m taxpayer bailout. DETAILS
Workers at Glencore’s Townsville copper refinery have called for strike action due to a less than desired pay offer, just two months after the mining giant secured a $600m taxpayer lifeline to keep the facility open.
The Australian Workers’ Union accused the company of “betrayal” in a statement, rejecting a pay offer it claimed would leave staff worse off – despite the massive injection of public funds from the Queensland and federal governments in October to keep Glencore’s Mount Isa copper smelter and Townsville refinery open.
The package came after back and forth negotiations between Glencore and the state and federal governments, with the offer substantially less than the $2bn over ten years Glencore had been asking for.
Australian Workers’ Union Queensland northern district secretary Jim Wilson said members had called on the union to begin the process of taking protected industrial action after bargaining talks collapsed.
Mr Wilson said the workforce had stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Glencore to lobby for the government rescue package, only to be “insulted” at the negotiating table.
“Our members backed this company when it mattered,” Mr Wilson said.
“They fought to save this refinery, they fought to save local jobs, and they fought to secure the taxpayer support Glencore said it desperately needed. But now, when workers need the company to step up, Glencore has slammed the door in their face.”
The union said the company had offered wage increases of between 6.9 per cent and 10.4 per cent over four years, which would be tied to individual performance and management discretion.
With the consumer price index running at 3.8 per cent annually, Mr Wilson said the offer amounted to a real wage cut.
“Since the last agreement, our members have already fallen 13 per cent behind,” Mr Wilson said.
“This isn’t an offer, it’s a cut dressed up as generosity.”
In response to the AWU comments Glencore said they reject the “inaccurate public comments made about the proposed offer to our copper refinery workforce.”
“We have been in discussions with our copper refinery employees in Townsville since the
beginning of 2025 on a new Enterprise Agreement,” a spokesperson said.
“Contrary to the inaccurate comments made by both the Electrical Trade Union (ETU) and the
Australian Workers’ Union (AWU), Glencore has tabled a 13% salary increase over four years.
In the first year alone, we are proposing an effective 6% salary increase for employees.”
‘Betrayed’: Workers furious at Glencore’s ‘appalling’ pay offer
Townsville’s copper refinery workers are upset by an “appalling” pay offer from mining giant Glencore, after the Swiss company received a $600m taxpayer funded bailout to keep operating for the next three years.
Following months of uncertainty when their previous Enterprise Agreement (EBA) lapsed, recommenced negotiations at the copper refinery have drawn the ire of workers who accuse Glencore of refusing to come to the table in good faith.
ETU State Organiser Liam Sharkey said “Glencore has offered nothing but a deeply inadequate offer” to workers over the last three meetings since it secured the bailout, leaving workers furious and feeling betrayed.
He said the company’s refusal to pay competitive wages had created a recruitment and retention crisis, one that Glencore is now trying to plug with contractors costing up to four times as much.
“Our members helped save this refinery. Now they expect Glencore to step up and deliver a fair deal, not drag its feet while workers struggle with rising costs. Many of our members are paid 25–30 per cent below the going rate for sparkies in the local area,” Mr Sharkey said.
“Instead of lifting wages to a fair and sustainable level for existing and future staff, they are wasting money. How is this a good long term investment delivering returns for taxpayers’ money? It’s bordering on corporate incompetence.”
Mr Sharkey issued an ominous warning, saying workers felt so betrayed and let down by the company that they were seriously contemplating an industrial action campaign.
He said Glencore refused to guarantee any annual wage increase at all, offering just 6.9-10.4 per cent over four years, based on individual performance at the discretion of the company – well behind CPI which is currently 3.8 per cent per annum.
“This latest offer is appalling. If individual performance management outcomes were used to decide corporate pay packets, those in charge should be paying taxpayers their money back,” he said.
A Glencore spokeswoman said it had been in negotiations with employees in Townsville since the beginning of the year on a new enterprise agreement.
“We are still in negotiations and are yet to put an offer to the workforce. For the ETU – as a member of the bargaining committee – to quote incorrect figures to media while we are still in negotiations is not appropriate,” she said.
“We will continue to bargain in good faith and make a fair offer to our employees.
“Even with the government support package the smelter and refinery are continuing to lose money in a very competitive international market – this must be factored into the EA negotiations with respect to long term job security.”
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Originally published as Union accuses Glencore of ‘betrayal’ as workers plan strike over pay offer
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