BHP must pay labour hire workers the same wages as permanent employees at three Queensland mines, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
Under the Federal Government’s 2024 Same Job Same Pay law, labour hires cannot be paid less than permanent employees for the same tasks. BHP has been ordered to pay 2,200 workers an average of A$30,000 more. This is after the Fair Work Commission determined a BHP subsidiary did not qualify as an exempt contractor.
“BHP has fought our Same Job Same Pay applications tooth and nail, trying to protect the wage-cutting employment model it pioneered,” said Mining & Energy Union Queensland president Mitch Hughes.
“This decision reaffirms that BHP’s approach [to] using labour hire[s] to undercut bargained wages is no longer lawful and it’s time to pay up.”
The ruling applies to employee labour hire workers at the company’s Goonyella Riverside, Peak Downs, and Saraji coal mining sites. The Mining & Energy Union estimates pay increases will total around $66 million.
The Mining & Energy Union applied to the Fair Work Commission on this issue, with this decision representing its 17th successful application. The union has 10 more applications pending before the commission.
BHP had argued that its Operation Services subsidiary should be exempted from the Same Job Same Pay regulations, saying that its labour hire workers provided a service. Service contractors are exempt from these laws.
Applying the Same Job Same Pay regulations across all BHP sites could cost the company $1.3 billion per year, BHP estimated in 2023.
BHP’s (ASX: BHP) share price closed at $38.60 on Monday, down from its previous close of $38.73. Its market capitalisation is $195.9 billion.
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