2,000 workers score $66m ‘same job, same pay’ win over BHP

BHP workers are set to receive a pay rise through the “same job, same pay” legislation in what has been touted as “the biggest win” under the labour hire laws.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has granted BHP labour hire workers across three separate coal mines a pay rise – a decision that both sides of the employment aisle have claimed will have major ramifications moving forward.

The decision from the FWC means that around 2,200 labour hire workers employed by WorkPac, Chandler Macleod, and BHP’s in-house labour hire subsidiary Operations Services at Saraji, Peak Downs and Goonyella Riverside Mines will receive annual pay rises close to $30,000.

The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) has claimed that the “landmark” win will be “a nail in the coffin for BHP’s sham labour hire model”.

“BHP has fought our same job, same pay applications tooth and nail, trying to protect the wage-cutting employment model it pioneered,” said MEU Queensland president Mitch Hughes.

“This decision reaffirms that BHP’s approach of using labour hire to undercut bargained wages is no longer lawful, and it’s time to pay up.

“The community has spoken, and the courts have spoken; BHP can no longer use outsourcing and dodgy corporate structure to cut pay.”

Steve Knott AM, chief executive at Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association (AREEA), claimed that the employer group “intervened” in the matter due to its importance and potential commercial ramifications.

“AREEA intervened in this important FWC matter to reaffirm the commitments made by the government at the time of our negotiations that it did not intend for the same job, same pay laws to cover genuine service contracting arrangements,” said Knott.

“We note it is open to the affected employers to appeal the FWC’s decision to the Federal Court should they believe jurisdictional or factual errors have been made.

“With the federal government focused on national productivity, it’s also important to consider the wider commercial ramifications of such decisions.

“Increasing labour costs at some of Australia’s most productive mining operations, in this case to the tune of some $1.3 billion, will fundamentally impact long-term investment and employment decisions.”

The MEU boasted that the win was the union’s sixth successful “same job, same pay” application in Queensland. With the union having 10 other applications in the works at the FWC, they cautioned employers against the “time-wasting” legal interference.

“There are still thousands of workers across the coal industry waiting for same job, same pay decisions that are being held up by employers’ delaying tactics,” said Hughes.

“This clear decision by the full bench of the Fair Work Commission should send a message not just to BHP but to the whole industry that the time for ripping off labour hire workers is over.”