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Premier Urges Compromise as Historic BHP Strike Looms
Unions say the stoppage could halt exports and cost BHP up to $120 million a day, while workers seek higher pay and clearer classifications.
- On Thursday, more than half of the 450 workers at BHP's bulk export terminal in Port Hedland walked off the job for an eight-hour strike, marking the first major industrial action in the Pilbara region in decades.
- After bargaining stalled for eight months, Electrical Trades Union WA secretary Adam Woodage said unions demanded equal pay and enforceable conditions, claiming BHP ignored worker claims despite generating $15 billion in profits last year.
- Rejecting claims of no progress, BHP countered it offered a 16 per cent pay increase over four years; unions estimate the stoppage could cost the mining giant $50 million in lost revenue and the state $6.8 million in royalties.
- Premier Roger Cook called the action concerning but urged all parties to return to negotiations, while Edith Cowan University industrial relations expert Alexis Vassiley noted the strike could set a precedent for unionisation in the region.
- The Fair Work Commission is currently reviewing the dispute following a meeting earlier this week that ended without agreement, as unionists in Melbourne and Brisbane rallied in solidarity on Thursday.
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12 Articles
12 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left7Leaning Right2Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution58% Left
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources lean Left
58% Left
L 58%
C 25%
R 17%
Factuality
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