Combined BHP Ports Unions to seek arbitration over wage deal dispute
Combined BHP Ports Unions will take top global miner BHP to arbitration after the two parties failed to agree on terms for a new wage deal for its Port Hedland iron-ore operations in Western Australia, the union said on Tuesday.
Port Hedland is the world's largest iron-ore export hub and the main shipping gateway for BHP's Pilbara operations.
The union, which represents around 450 operators and maintenance workers at the site, will apply for an intractable bargaining declaration, which allows the regulator, the Fair Work Commission, to set terms for the agreement.
The two sides have been in negotiations to determine a four-year wage agreement for more than nine months, and meeting almost weekly in recent months, facilitated by the Fair Work Commission.
".....BHP is unwilling to negotiate an agreement that reflects the specialized skills, extreme conditions and significant personal sacrifices of the people who generated the company more than $13-billion in profit this year," the Combined BHP Ports Unions said in a statement.
"Our focus remains on delivering a fair and reasonable agreement," a BHP spokesperson said in response to a Reuters request for comment.
The miner said its latest offer was put forward a week ago and added that continuing negotiations was the fastest way to reach an outcome.
For most workers, BHP has offered a 17% pay increase over the four years of the agreement, which will include a transition payment of A$25000 ($17802.50) paid over two years, as well as an increase to roster allowances.
The union argues that some 40% of the workforce would be worse off under that proposal.
Shares of BHP ended 2.2% down at A$59.25, compared with a 0.9% decline in the broader benchmark index.
