
BHP CHALLENGE SAME JOB SAME PAY
Monday 20th January 2025, marked the first day of the hearing in the Fair Work Commission as BHP challenges the ‘Same Job Same Pay’ laws at its Queensland coal mines.
The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) has applied for orders to increase the pay of over 1,600 labour hire mineworkers at Peak Downs, Saraji, and Goonyella Riverside mines to match the wages of permanent employees.
BHP opposes the applications, which rely on the Same Job Same Pay laws introduced by the Albanese Government to stop employers from using labour hire as a loophole to undercut established Enterprise Agreements.
If successful, the MEU’s applications for ‘Regulated Labour Hire Arrangement’ Orders would boost annual pay for affected workers by $10,000 to $40,000, depending on their skills and experience.
This week’s hearings, held before a Full Bench of the Commission, are pivotal in establishing that labour hire mineworkers at BHP mines – including those employed by BHP’s in-house provider Operations Services – qualify for Same Job Same Pay.
Jason Noonan, an MEU Delegate and coal miner at BHP’s Peak Downs mine, highlighted the broader benefits of the new laws:
“More permanents have come on board since Same Job Same Pay was introduced as the incentive to use labour hire has lessened.
“We will celebrate every new permanent job that is created, and we will also support our labour hire workmates to get Same Job Same Pay.”
MEU General Secretary Grahame Kelly expressed confidence that the WorkPac, Chandler Macleod, and Operations Services employees covered by the Union’s application meet the criteria for Same Job Same Pay.
“They work under the exact conditions that the Albanese Government sought to address with laws to close the labour hire loophole,” said Mr. Kelly.
“We’ve seen major players like Qantas accept that the labour hire rort is no longer lawful or in line with community expectations.
“It’s very disappointing to see our biggest, wealthiest mining company BHP fighting tooth and nail to continue using labour hire to suppress wages. But we are committed to continuing the fight to deliver wage justice for labour hire mineworkers.
“These new laws delivered by Federal Labor have already resulted in over $25 million in annual pay rises for coal miners, with hundreds of millions more in the pipeline.
“This is money that wealthy mining companies have clawed out of workers’ pay packets over many years and it should be returned to regional families and communities to assist with cost of living pressures.”