"BHP taken to umpire for 'bad faith bargaining' in the Pilbara", 11 April 2025

Mining unions are accusing BHP of a go-slow in pay talks by only showing up for three meetings in six months to negotiate the first union deal for iron ore production workers in the Pilbara.

The Western Mine Workers Alliance.. launched legal action against BHP in pursuit of good faith bargaining orders after the mining giant delayed negotiations for 1600 operational workers at its Mining Area C and South Flank mines in Western Australia.

BHP’s Mining Area C is one of the biggest mines in the country and any union agreement covering it would represent a benchmark for BHP’s other iron ore operations, as well as the broader deunionised area...

[Unions] allege that BHP has refused to negotiate any changes that will cost the company extra money – claims BHP denies...

BHP chief people officer Jad Vodopija told The Australian Financial Review Workforce Summit last month that unions were dragging BHP to the commission regularly and bringing complexity to business decisions...

Unions were able to sidestep requirements to first prove majority support from BHP’s workforce by using new powers introduced by the Albanese government...

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable, who wants whoever wins government to review the impact of Labor’s new laws, said union attempts to get a foothold in the Pilbara were “merely first steps”.

She claimed unions’ “ultimate goal is to use their new powers to impose multi-employer bargaining across all iron ore producers in WA, as has been done in coal mining in NSW”.