At the end of October our Union held our national Convention – an event that brings together hundreds of workplace representatives to reflect on the last four years and set our course for the next four.
This Convention was an opportunity to share good news. Our Union is growing and we are winning important reforms and great outcomes in the workplace.
I was able to report to the Convention that more Queensland mining and energy workers are recognising the value of joining us to improve their pay and conditions and defend their rights.
Since our last National Convention in early 2021, membership of our District has increased by almost 2000 members. This has occurred as we have fought for and won Same Job Same Pay laws for labour hire workers, campaigned for safety reforms including dust disease management and industrial manslaughter laws, bargained hard for improved pay and conditions across our industries, and represented hundreds of individuals to win back their jobs and entitlements.
The first Same Job Same Pay orders come into effect on 1 November, with hundreds of labour hire mineworkers waking up to pay rises in the tens of thousands annually.
Labour hire workers at Callide mine will be among those getting pay rises. I was very proud when our union made our first Same Job Same Pay application at Callide mine and when we also got our first successful order at that mine. I’m also proud that the hundreds of labour hire workers at the mine have had the full support of the permanent workforce in pursuing Same Job Same Pay and ending pay discrimination at their site.
As of November, we have made applications at 10 coal mines, also including Peak Downs, Saraji, Goonyella Riverside, Daunia, German Creek, Coppabella, Poitrel, Blackwater and Moura, covering nearly 2500 workers.
We are confident that these applications will be successful, notwithstanding legal challenges by some companies – notably BHP who are determined to throw everything at defending their dodgy Operations Services in-house labour hire model.
It was a highlight of the Convention to rally outside BHP’s Annual General Meeting in Brisbane and send a message to shareholders that it’s time to accept the law of the land. BHP should pay workers according to agreed rates, not complex corporate structures designed purely to cut pay. As we noted, even Qantas has got on board and accepted that it’s time for Same Job Same Pay – BHP is now the outlier and change is inevitable.
However, despite our success over the last few years, we also face challenges. We achieved significant reforms by working with the Labor State Government, particularly regarding safety.
This has been vitally important, especially given this year’s tragic succession of fatalities and incidents. Much of this work is still ongoing, with the most recent amendment only coming into force in September.
Of course, the change in government has complicated this and we will be working hard to ensure the Crisafulli government doesn’t succumb to enormous pressure from their donors to roll back worker protections in the interests of production and profit.
This would be an unacceptable outcome.
2024 has been the deadliest year for coal mine workers in recent memory and the antidote is to raise the standards, not lower them. All mineworkers must dig in their heels and resist any reduction to the safety standards in our industry via changes to the Coal Mining Health and Safety Act.
The best way to defend the standards we work under is to know your workplace rights in regard to safety, exercise them when you must, and of course stand together through the Union.
Mitch Hughes
President Mining and Energy Union Queensland District
