‘Labor taking sides’ in IR fight, says Tania Constable

The nation’s peak mining body has accused the Albanese government of siding with the Mining and Energy Union against BHP in a Fair Work Commission case.

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable. Picture: John Feder

The nation’s peak mining body has accused the Albanese government of abusing its position by making a rare intervention in a landmark case before the Fair Work Commission to side with the Mining and Energy Union against BHP.

In June, the MEU lodged ­applications with the industrial umpire seeking same job, same pay orders covering about 1700 labour hire workers at three BHP coalmines in Queensland.

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

Speaking at the NSW Labor conference on July 27, Anthony Albanese said he was “proud to announce we will be sending the Australian government’s lawyers to back the workers and the unions in their case against the labour hire company Operat­ional Services.”

But chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia, Tania Constable, took issue with the Prime Minister’s comments and warned that backing unions was not an appropriate justification for a government intervention. The MCA said the government had not intervened in any other major FWC cases under the Secure Jobs Better Pay and Closing Loopholes reforms.

“It is disappointing that the federal government is actively and boastfully working against one of Australia’s biggest companies, directing taxpayer-funded lawyers to help unions in their case against BHP,” Ms Constable said. “It is highly inappropriate for a government to abuse its position and intervene in court or commission proceedings simply to barrack for one side, whilst taking the stick to the other.

“Australia depends on its mining sector for its ongoing prosperity. It pays more tax than all other industries put together. It is about time the federal government got behind the mining sector to ensure its continued role in supporting Australian communities and the economy.”

The MEU has filed 10 applications for regulated labour hire arrangement orders covering approximately 1700 labour hire workers employed at Peak Downs, Saraji and Goonyella Riverside mines in the Bowen Basin. The union said the applications sought to lift the pay of ­affected ­labour hire workers by $10,000 to $40,000 a year – ­depending on factors including skills, rosters and current remuneration including bonus payments.

MEU Queensland president Mitch Hughes said in July that the legal ­action sought to ­“address the ­labour hire rort at BHP, being the biggest player in Australia’s coal industry”.

In 2023, BHP warned the cost to the mining giant of Labor’s IR changes would be significantly higher than its estimate of $1.3bn ­a year. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt responded by saying: “What is highly inappropriate is large companies paying some workers substantially less than others.”