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Safety operators were threatening to strike at Australian BHP Group Limited's coking coal mines in Queensland, while train drivers delayed their strike actions at its iron ore operations in Western Australia (WA), foreign media reported.
About 70-80 Open Cut Overseers (OCOs) were voting on whether to take industrial action, which would close on December 20. The supervisors were mainly from five BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) coal mines of Daunia, Blackwater, Saraji, Goonyella Riverside and Peak Downs Mines.
Operations at all of these mines could be required to suspend if the OCOs responsible for coal mine safety all stop work at the same time.
Any planned strike action of OCOs union needed to notify the BMA at least a week in advance under Australian law. The first strike could take place on December 28. BHP hoped to negotiate with the OCOs to reach an agreement, with the next round of talks scheduled for December 13.
The union opposed BHP's move to formulate separate agreements for OCOs of each mine, arguing that it undermined collective bargaining efforts.
Collieries' Staff and Officials Association Queensland organizer Zac Gallagher accused BHP of delaying tactics since negotiations started in May. "The separation of the agreements makes no operational or commercial sense outside of delaying and obstructing collective bargaining," he said.
The workers were in talks with their employers to reach an agreement on redundancy pay, accident pay and consultation over roster changes after BHP introduced contracts in 2022, known as guarantee of annual earnings, which removed bonus payments for high earners earning more than $167,000 a year.
Industrial action at iron ore operations in WA
Train drivers at BHP's iron ore operations in Western Australia voted in favor of industrial action in October, but no action has been taken so far. Members of the Mining and Energy Union agreed not to take any industrial action while their members voted on whether to accept proposals such as pay rise. Voting will begin on December 12 and close on December 15.
BHP had joined other mining entities, including the Minerals Council of Australia, in condemning legislation passed in federal Parliament last week that would force companies to pay the same wage to all people doing the same job.
The provision in the new law could affect the way that BHP operated its in-house contractor business Operations Services, which typically payed less per hour than workers employed directly by BHP and under different employment conditions.
BHP argued that its operational services gave the company flexibility to do work that would normally be carried out by outside contractors who were not paid at the same level as BHP.
The union deemed that this service actually aimed to avoid paying workers higher wages negotiated through the collective bargaining process.
(Writing by yan.sun Editing by Harry Huo)
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