Mining Giants Lobby Against Same Job Same Pay Implementation

CEO Tania Constable said the policy fails to consider the importance of the worker’s age, experience, expertise, and qualification. 

The world's largest dump trucks shifting earth at Citic Pacific Mining's Sino Iron magnetite iron ore project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia on Mar. 5, 2010. Amy Coopes/AFP via Getty Images

Mining giants have criticised the Albanese government’s industrial relations reforms for inhibiting economic productivity as the Same Job Same Pay rights start to take effect in November.

“From the outset, the unions have been blinkered to the unintended consequences of these perverse workplace laws, given the ultimate benefit of such incursions into Australian workplaces lies primarily with them, not the workers they claim to represent,” said Tania Constable, Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) CEO.

“It is self-serving policy masquerading as economic policy, given there is nothing in these changes that enhances productivity, encourages economic growth, boosts investment, increases competition, or spurs job creation.”

Constable further said that the Same Job Same Pay policy fails to consider the significance of the worker’s age, experience, expertise, and qualification.

The policy, part of the federal government’s aim to close the loopholes in industrial relations, will require employers to pay labour hire workers at least the same amount as directly employed staff.

Union Blames Mining Companies’ Greed

Constable noted that such a practice will only make Australia less attractive for investments but the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) argues that the biggest impediment to mining investment is not workplace relations but the greed of the big mining industry players.

“The cost of paying labour hire workers fairly and equally pales in comparison to mining company profits, it is small change for them,” said ACTU Secretary Sally McManus.

“However, it is not small change for the working people and their families who are seeing life changing pay rises because of these laws.”

McManus noted that the mining industry generated $253 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year, with profits increasing by almost four times more than the sector’s wages.

“The thing is many big businesses will always be looking for ways to cut wages. They will always be looking for loopholes and legal schemes to increase their profits. The job of a government is to support Australian workers and their families by making sure this does not happen,” said McManus.

BHP Coal Mine Workers Rally

About 500 mine workers rallied outside BHP’s annual general meeting, urging the company to stop fighting the Same Job, Same Pay implementation.

Grahame Kelly, General Secretary of Mining and Energy Union (MEU), said that these labour hire workers work at coal mines in Queensland and do the same job as direct hires, but earn less than $30,000.

Kelly said that BHP should stop hiring from labour hire provider Operations Services, following the lead of Qantas and Kmart.

“BHP would be better off getting rid of the OS model and employing those workers under the existing site agreements,” said Kelly.

“And we won’t apologise for getting workers a wage increase that they deserve for doing the same job as BHP’s permanent workers under existing agreements.”