Unions blast Rio as they fight for foothold in Pilbara
Rio Tinto says industrial peace is at risk, as it tries to stave off a union power grab.
Unions fighting to regain a foothold in the iron ore industry have accused Rio Tinto of running a scare campaign that includes telling workers signing enterprise bargaining agreements will make mining unviable.
BHP has already been forced to the negotiating table in the Pilbara and now unions are trying to do the same with Rio by signing up workers at its Paraburdoo operations.
The unions want Rio workers to sign a majority support petition to initiate bargaining at Paraburdoo. If successful, it will be the first majority support determination at a major Pilbara iron ore mine in more than 20 years.
The Western Mine Workers Alliance claims workers at Paraburdoo are being told a “bunch of BS” by Rio management to discourage them taking advantage of industrial relations changes introduced by the Albanese government.
Rio and other major miners have warned the new laws threaten decades of industrial peace in the Pilbara.
The union alliance has attacked Rio via social media, accusing the mining giant of making misleading workers about the viability of mining and the future of bonuses under collective bargaining.
“Nowhere else in the world had as much iron ore, and companies have invested billions of dollars in infrastructure and facilities,” the alliance, a partnership between the Mining and Energy Union and the Australian Workers Union, said.
“And last year, Rio made $2m in profits per employee — so there’s plenty of money to go around.”
In an appeal to the non-union workforce at Rio’s vast iron ore operations in the Pilbara, the alliance claimed it was busting myths being spread by the company.
“On average union members earn up to 30 per cent more than non-union workers because they are able to bargain collectively for a better outcome for all workers. For example, Rio’s loco drivers (train drivers) earn salaries of $250,000 to $300,000 because they negotiated together with their union for a strong EBA,” the unions said.
Rio said the established system in the Pilbara had delivered for workers, the company and Australia for many years.
“Our experience is that our existing approach helps drive productivity and wages growth,” a Rio spokesperson said on Monday.
“This model has delivered for our people, our business and the Australian economy, through the creation of jobs, strong and sustained wage growth, and the payment of royalties.”
Rio has in recent years introduced even-time rosters, 18 weeks of paid parental leave and fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) options from regional towns, on top of pay rises.
In the past few days, Rio has introduced hefty compensation payments for workers who have flight delays — $500 for a 4-8 hour delay, $750 for 8-12 hour delays and $1000 for a delay of more than 12 hours.
The unions claimed partial credit for the new compensation policy, saying it was a sign of the petition “making waves” among Rio management.
Rio surveyed workers about the change last November and it is understood the move, which took effect on March 1, was independent of union engagement.
Most of the workforce at Paraburdoo live in the town of the same name, built in the 1970s to support mining.
Speaking last year after the release of full-year results showing the Pilbara iron ore operations generated more than 90 per cent of Rio’s $US11.8 billion ($18 billion) in underlying earnings, chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the company was worried about a return to the bad old days of strikes under the Albanese government’s IR changes.
“We are concerned with the development in the (industrial relations) legislation in Australia because the history scares us. We had a situation in the early ‘80s where we had 100 strikes a year,” he said.
“We have very good co-operation with our staff, we don’t have that environment today, but we are concerned, and we are doing everything we can to try and protect that co-operative environment.”
Rio said on Monday its East Intercourse Island export terminal was back in action after significant repairs over the past six weeks. The terminal was damaged in the wake of Cyclone Sean, which dumped a record 274mm of rain on parts of the Pilbara in a 24-hour period and flooded key mining infrastructure.
Rio maintained Pilbara iron ore shipment guidance for 2025 at 323-338 million tonnes.
