‘Unions aren’t stupid’: Resources Minister Madeleine King’s savage salvo in Pilbara industrial relations war

Resources Minister Madeleine King has unleashed on the Big Australian as she amped up her defence of escalating union action in the resources sector. Grilled over concerns the industry would be damaged by industrial relations battles, Ms King took particular aim at BHP — the State’s second biggest exporter of iron ore. “Another way of looking at it. . . is how you work more productively with the union leadership (rather) than always playing the BHP card, which is to go to the Murdoch press and (pull) up another thing they don’t like,” she told a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA event. Ms King doubled down on the accusation, later telling journalists that BHP has “always railed against Labor policy”. “Whether in opposition or government. . . they’re the first to go to the Murdoch press to do a story around what they don’t like about what a Labor government chooses to do. “And it wouldn’t matter what it is.” Ms King’s attack came as mining magnate Chris Ellison declared it was the “sh**tiest time” to lead Mineral Resources after the miner unveiled a grim set of financial year results. The Western Mine Workers Alliance started negotiations with BHP for an enterprise bargaining deal earlier this month, sparking lobbyists to warn the industry would be “sent back to the 1980s”. That follows major disruption at three of the State’s biggest gas plants last year, first revealed by The West Australian. Miners are concerned that empowering unions will delay and disrupt projects, drive up costs, and discourage investment. Lobbyists have pointed to the industrial chaos of the 1980s when at least one big WA iron ore miner was posting ongoing losses and teetered on the brink amid a dispute with unions. The alliance has dismissed the industry’s warnings as “hysteria” as it maintained it was not pushing for a “revolution” in the Pilbara – just fair wages and conditions for workers. When asked whether she was worried rising unionisation in the resources industry would lead to “an economic catastrophe”, Ms King said “the main assurance is that unionists aren’t stupid”. “They understand the economic prosperity of the Pilbara because they’re part of it,” she told a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA breakfast on Thursday. “The union movement has changed.” She said businesses should focus on working more productively with unions rather than trying to “smash” them up — and talked up how her Government was supporting the sector through moves including production tax credits and the Future Gas Strategy. BHP’s Australia boss, Geraldine Slattery, said: “Australia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grasp the opportunities of the demand for resources in the global energy transition. Doing so will rely on Australia putting in place the right policy settings to enable us to keep pace with other mining nations, which are already outcompeting with Australia. “Western Australians understand just how important mining is to WA’s prosperity. BHP employs around 14,000 people in WA, and BHP-operated projects contributed 11 per cent of all Government revenue to Western Australia in FY24.” And Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable said mining’s benefits to the country needed to be protected. “When Australian mining does well, so does our nation,” she said. “The benefits flow through to every Australian, from job creation to the essential revenues that fund our schools, hospitals, and infrastructure. The industry’s success is Australia’s success. That is worth standing up for, and protecting.“ Ms King’s onstage interview with CCI chief economist Aaron Morey got fiery amid talk of the big pay packets for workers in the resources sector. She said the jobs were hot and dangerous with long hours — highlighting the experience of workers stuck on Shell’s Prelude floating LNG vessel in 2021 without any electricity. “It’s really not fair to just say they earn a quarter of a million bucks,” Ms King said. “It’s no wonder union leaders get a little bit angry when they think (businesses) aren’t meeting their obligations out there.” Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black — whose group represents BHP — hit back at Ms King’s comments. “It’s no exaggeration to say business investment and jobs have been put at risk because of these IR changes, and that’s the consistent feedback I get from employers,” Mr Black said. The Western Mine Workers Alliance — which combines the Mining and Energy Union and Australian Workers’ Union — last week sat down with BHP to open negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement for workers at Area C and South Flank mines. WMWA coordinator Shane Roulstone said workers wanted guaranteed annual pay rises, pay equity for workers doing the same job and clear classification structures. Mr Roulstone said the union would also push for measures to ensure flights arrived on time for FIFO workers. “Workers get a bit frustrated if their flights are delayed by four or five hours, and they’re sitting around doing nothing .. waiting to get home because of something out of their control,” he said. Mr Roulstone accepted BHP wouldn’t agree to all its demands. But even if it did, the union estimated it would cost BHP roughly 0.2 per cent of its profit for FY2024 to fund them. “As I’ve said previously, it’s not a revolution. It’s just a sensible evolution where workers can have a genuine say in their pay and conditions about the things that are important to them,” he said.