Australian Unions have welcomed a landmark decision by the Fair Work Commission to greenlight wage rises for thousands of BHP mineworkers upholding the new Same Job Same Pay laws.
The decision to back in Same Job Same Pay rights for miners at three of BHP’s Central Queensland mines will boost the pay of more than 2,000 mineworkers, currently employed under the wage-cutting labour hire model pioneered by BHP.
Around 2,200 mineworkers are now in line for annual wage rises in the order of $30,000 in the most significant win so far by Australian Unions using Same Job Same Pay laws to secure wage rises.
BHP will now be forced to end its practice of exploiting workers using labour hire arrangements to reduce its wages bill, depriving families and regional communities of the income boost.
The decision, pursued by the Mining and Energy Union with the backing of the ACTU, upholds Same Job Same Pay laws brought in by the Albanese Government to stop companies using dodgy labour hire firms as a loophole to undercut wages in established enterprise agreements.
The laws have delivered essential pay rises for other mine workers totaling over $100 million in annual pay rises, as well as significant rises for Qantas flight attendants and warehouse employees around the country. Workers in these sectors were at the Fair Work Commission hearings to defend the laws.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus:
“This is about Australian Unions winning wage justice for workers, which stops labour hire workers being treated as second-class citizens.
“Wealthy mining companies like BHP have clawed money out of workers’ pay packets for many years when the income should be returned to workers, their families and the communities they support.
“BHP’s challenge to applying these laws was an un-Australian act and clearly completely out of step with Government and community expectations.
“BHP made an annual profit of $20.2 billion last financial year.
“They engaged in time-wasting legal interference to challenge national laws that are about getting wages moving again and ending exploitative labour hire practices.
“Time’s up for BHP; it’s time to pay up and do it now. Whether it’s Qantas or BHP, Australian Unions are determined to stop big business interests using loopholes to pay workers less by outsourcing labour.
“This decision will have a flow-on effect throughout the mining industry and well beyond that, as employers realise that using labour hire rorts to undercut wages is no longer lawful.”
