Pay rises from Same Job Same Pay will start to flow in NSW after the first order for the state was issued at Boggabri mine near Gunnedah.
One of our members, Nathan Hall-Riley, a labour hire Operator at Boggabri mine is one of the first NSW beneficiaries of Same Job Same Pay laws which came into effect on November 1. He is now receiving an extra $350 a fortnight.
Nathan told the MEU that when he got involved with the campaign for Same Job Same Pay it was to benefit his family, including his fiancée Brooke, three-year-old daughter Rhenn and two-year-old son Ryder.
Under the Fair Work Commission’s ‘regulated labour hire arrangement order’, nearly 50 other labour hire workers like Nathan employed by One Key now have their pay lifted to match rates under the Boggabri Enterprise Agreement covering direct employees.
In general, One Key employees received up to $15,000 less than Boggabri employees a year and the order closes the pay gap. The pay gap was even bigger for workers on Boggabri’s lower-paid ‘New to Industry’ program.
Significantly, the Fair Work Commission determined that ‘New to Industry’ workers would also be covered by the Same Job Same Pay order. While there are exemptions for trainees and apprentices under Same Job Same Pay laws, ‘New to Industry’ workers at Boggabri were paid less but were performing the same work as other employees and not part of a trainee program.
Travis Herbert, a dump truck driver at Boggabri on the ‘New to Industry’ program is now receiving over an extra $1,000 a fortnight under Same Job Same Pay.
MEU members at Boggabri have called on Idemitsu to follow in the footsteps of other NSW mines and put the affected labour hire workers on as permanents so they can receive not only the same pay, but all the benefits of the host Enterprise Agreement.
We are seeing a consistent trend of hiring more permanent employees among our biggest mine operators since the financial incentive to outsource has been removed. This is win-win for mine operators who can secure skilled staff for their operations and workers who receive better job security and conditions.
The MEU has made Same Job Same Pay applications at a further 13 coal mines in NSW, which are still before the Fair Work Commission. Some of our biggest NSW employers like Glencore are challenging or simply delaying proceedings to buy time, rather than accept that the law has now changed.
At the time of writing, PIMS and Illawarra Coal confirmed that they will not oppose the MEU’s application for Same Job Same Pay for hundreds of labour hire workers at Appin mine in the Illawarra, with an order from the Fair Work Commission expected shortly.
I urge other mine operators to follow the lead of Illawarra coal and respect the law of the land and stop resisting Same Job Same Pay applications to delay pay rises that are inevitable.
As of November, when the laws came into effect, the MEU had made 46 applications to the Fair Work Commission for Same Job Same Pay at 24 coal mine sites nationally, worth an estimated total of $128 million in annual pay rises. We will continue to make Same Job Same pay applications until the unfair labour hire model is stamped out.
We encourage all labour hire workers to get involved in the fight for Same Job Same Pay, so more people can join Nathan and Travis and celebrate significant pay rises for them and their families. If you haven’t yet joined the Union, consider joining in 2025. What better New Years’ Resolution could there be than investing in your own rights, safety and protection at work.
I have appreciated the opportunity to contribute to @ The Coalface magazine this year on behalf of the Mining and Energy Union and to all readers, we wish you a Merry Christmas and happy and safe New Year with family and loved ones.
Robin Williams
District President MEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy
