BHP loses union fight over ‘same job, same pay’
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The news: Unions won a landmark ruling against BHP after the Fair Work Commission approved Australia’s first ‘same job, same pay’ application.
The numbers: The ruling is expected to see average pay rises of $30,000 annually for over 2,200 mineworkers, amounting to a cost of around $66 million each year for BHP.
The context: The matter was considered to be a test case for Labor’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. The decision is likely to hold broader ramifications across the coal industry.
The decision will significantly raise the pay of labour-hire workers at BHP’s Peak Downs, Saraji and Goonyella Riverside mines in the Bowen Basin, Queensland.
What they said: The Mining and Energy Union said that the decision is the “strongest endorsement yet of the Same Job Same Pay laws,” and confirms that “BHP’s labour hire model was used to unfairly undercut wages and it must end.”
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable told the AFR she was “deeply concerned by the precedent” and that it confirms “almost any service contractor could be captured by the legislation unless they can litigate their way out”.
“This is an incredibly disappointing decision that will directly threaten thousands of specialised contractors who play a vital role in mining operations across the country,” Constable said.
The sources: Mining and Energy Union, Fair Work Commission decision
