Hearings into BHP’s challenge to ‘Same Job Same Pay’ at its Queensland coal mines in the Fair Work Commission got underway in Brisbane in January. This marks the first step in an important legal case to establish that labour hire mineworkers at BHP mines – including those employed by BHP’s in-house provider Operations Services – are eligible for Same Job Same Pay.
We are confident that we will overcome BHP’s challenge to our application for Same Job Same Pay at Saraji, Goonyella Riverside and Peak Downs mines. Successful applications would deliver pay rises in the order of $30,000 each to about 1,600 workers and pave the way for more successful applications across the industry.
MEU members – both labour hire and permanent – appeared before the Fair Work Commission to provide evidence about why 1,600 labour hire mineworkers at Peak Downs, Saraji and Goonyella Riverside mines should have their pay rates lifted to match permanent employees.
Helen Vine is a long-term union member and labour hire worker for BHP Operations Services who gave evidence at the Fair Work Commission.
“Having been labour hire for the last thirteen-odd years I just think it’s been totally unfair when I’ve seen other people paid more than I do, when we’re driving the same equipment and working in the same areas.
“Same Job Same Pay means fairness. I’m here to fight for fairness for my workmates and for the new to industry coming into it so they don’t have to go through what I have gone through.”
During the hearings, BHP attempted to make the case that Operations Services workers are ‘service contractors’ and not labour hire and therefore should be exempt. BHP has even hired employer-friendly barrister Richard Dalton fresh off his unsuccessful defence of Qantas’ illegal outsourcing of ground handlers during the Covid-19 pandemic to lead the charge.
Our Union’s position is that BHP Operations Services cannot be described as a genuine service contractor and any legal challenges are simply an attempt to buy time.
We are confident that WorkPac, Chandler Macleod and Operations Services employees covered by the Union’s application are eligible for Same Job Same Pay and that those workers are exactly who the new laws sought to assist.
The intention of the new laws was made clear when they were introduced. The then Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke explained the purpose of the Bill was to close loopholes used by businesses to undercut standards set by enterprise agreements.
In fact, in then Minister Burke’s second reading speech to the House of Representatives in late 2023, he identified an employee of BHP Operations Services who was paid less than his directly employed workmates at the same coal mine as emblematic of what the new laws sought to rectify.
Throughout the hearings, we believe our union witnesses demonstrated that BHP Operations Services employees work under the exact conditions that the Albanese Government sought to address with laws to close the labour hire loophole.
While it is very disappointing to see our biggest, wealthiest mining company BHP fighting tooth and nail to continue using labour hire to suppress wages, we are committed to continuing the fight to deliver wage justice for labour hire mineworkers.
In February, the relevant parties will return to the Fair Work Commission for final statements. The Fair Work Commission will then deliberate on a decision on whether to award a Same Job Same Pay order for workers covered by the MEU’s application.
This is a big case that will take some months to resolve. Same Job Same Pay laws are still new and are being tested through the courts. We thank members for their patience. We will keep workers updated and remember – the more workers are in the union, the stronger and better resourced we are to take on mining giants like BHP.
Mitch Hughes
President Mining and Energy Union Queensland District
