BHP fights mining union’s same job same pay campaign

The mining giant is seeking to invoke an exemption for service contractors under Labor’s legislation.

Peak Downs is one of the sites targeted by the mining union.

BHP is seeking to defeat the mining union’s landmark same job same pay claim against the mining giant’s in-house labour hire companies by seeking to invoke an exemption for service contractors under Labor’s legislation.

The Albanese government is backing the Mining and Energy Union’s bid for same job same pay orders that, if successful, would lift the wages of 1700 labour hire workers by $10,000 to $40,000 a year.

It is seen as a test case of the government’s industrial relations laws, which allow the Fair Work Commission to order companies to pay labour hire workers the same wage as directly employed employees – if they are performing the same job.

Following negotiations with the Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association, the government agreed last year to exclude service contractors from the labour hire changes.

In a submission to the commission on Friday, BHP formally opposed the MEU claim, arguing its labour hire arm Operation Services was a service contractor and should be subject to the exemptions in the legislation.

Operation Services vice-president Matt Furrer told staff the union campaign against OS was increasing disruption, and making it harder to create jobs, new training opportunities, and compete with other resources nations.

In an email to staff, Mr Furrer said the majority of OS maintenance and production employees had voted in favour of proposed enterprise agreements but “unions have blocked the path to completion”.

The MEU has accused BHP of driving the casual labour hire model that has “spread like a cancer” throughout coal­ mining, driving down wages and job security across the industry.

A BHP spokesman said on Friday that OS had created over 4500 permanent, high-paid jobs, with access to training and development, job security and the opportunity to grow.

“With over 180,000 job applications, it’s clear the Operations Services employee proposition is compelling and competitive,” the spokesman said.