CFMEU bid to thwart BHP vaccine mandate

The mining union has challenged BHP’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, claiming the move was not lawful or reasonable.

BHP has announced it will introduce vaccination as a condition of entry to its Australian sites and offices

The mining union has challenged BHP’s Covid vaccine mandate at its Mt Arthur coalmine, claiming the move was not a lawful and reasonable direction given NSW had not issued a public health order requiring the mandatory vaccination of mine workers.

Lodging a dispute in the Fair Work Commission, the CFMEU’s mining and energy division said members were concerned they would lose their job at the Hunter Valley open-cut coalmine if they did not comply with BHP’s direction that staff get their first jab by November 10.

BHP announced on October 6 that it would introduce vaccination as a condition of entry to its Australian sites and offices effective no later than January 31, 2022.

BHP intends to introduce the requirement at Mt Arthur in advance of any other BHP mine, ­citing “local risk factors”.

Peter Jordan, the union’s northern mining and NSW energy district president, accused BHP of taking a “heavy-handed and counter-productive” approach at Mt Arthur.

“High rates of Covid vaccination among mineworkers would be better achieved through education, access and incentives rather than threatening people’s livelihoods,” Mr Jordan said.

“There is no public health order in NSW requiring mandatory vaccination in the mining industry. An open-cut coalmine is not the same as a hospital or aged care ­facility. We are calling on BHP to take a reasonable approach and work with employees and contractors to achieve high rates of vaccination while maintaining the full range of Covid safety measures on site.”

The workforce at Mt Arthur comprises about 2000 people, including 1100 direct employees.

In its application, the union says there has been no public health order issued in NSW requiring mandatory vaccination of mine workers as had occurred in Victoria and Western Australia.

While the union said it strongly supported the vaccination of the highest possible number of Australians, it did not back compulsory employer vaccine mandates, and members were concerned about the threat to their jobs if they did not comply by November 10.

It said the vaccine mandate was not a lawful and reasonable direction by the employer because of the absence of a NSW public health order; no other NSW mining employer had done it; and there were existing strict Covid control measures at Mt Arthur.

The union is seeking, at first instance, a conciliation conference convened by the commission and, if necessary, an interim or final order requiring the withdrawal of the vaccine mandate.

BHP Minerals Australia president Edgar Basto said “the science is clear that widespread vaccination saves lives”.

“In line with government guidance, we recognise the path forward is through widespread vacc­ination … and we are looking at a range of practical ways to support that while protecting communities and workforces,” he said.

“We have undertaken a thorough assessment and believe that this is the right path forward to protect the health of our people, their families and the communities where we operate – including remote Indigenous communities – while continuing to safely run our operations. We will work closely with our workforce as we go through the process of implementing these controls.”