BHP electrical workers to vote on strike at key Australian iron ore export hub

By Helen Clark and Sherin Sunny

PERTH, May 29 (Reuters) – Hundreds of BHP electrical workers at Port Hedland in Western Australia will vote on a potential strike action, a union said on Friday, raising the risk of disruptions to iron ore shipments from one of the world’s biggest export hubs.

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) said it had begun the process for its members to authorise a strike, which could “very likely” take place by the end of June if a pay deal was not reached.

It comes after six months of stalled talks with BHP, the world’s biggest listed miner, to agree on a labour agreement, with workers seeking improved pay and conditions. The prospect of a strike has caused superannuation funds and investors to express concern about exports.

“Our members haven’t taken this lightly,” Adam Woodage, the union’s state secretary, said at a press conference in Perth.

“BHP have stalled negotiations for up to six months. There’s been little movement from the company, and what movement has come has been an insult to our members.”

A strike would have a “significant impact on operations” and could bring the export hub to a halt, Woodage added.

A BHP spokesperson said the miner was negotiating a new agreement with its port operations teams.  

“In the event of union disruptions at our sites, we have strong contingency plans in place to protect our people and ensure safe, reliable operations can continue,” the spokesperson added.

Port Hedland is one of the largest iron ore loading ports in the world and the largest in Australia. It is linked to a number of BHP’s mines in the Pilbara region and is used for all of its iron ore exports in Western Australia.

BHP’s labour agreement covers around 450 port workers, of whom about 200 are ETU members.

Unionised workers will vote in the next two weeks to endorse work stoppages ranging from 15 minutes to 24 hours, the ETU said.

“We anticipate they’ll endorse taking that action,” Woodage said.

“BHP had a A$15 billion ($10.73 billion) profit (last year) … so there’s plenty of money in the bank for BHP to share with their workers, and our members are seeking a slice of that money.”

INVESTORS CONCERNED

Superannuation funds and investors say they are concerned about the impact that strikes could have on exports.

Union members confirmed they had met with asset manager BlackRock in Perth on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Australian Financial Review Mining Summit, as earlier reported by The Australian newspaper.

Multiple panel members throughout the day expressed dismay with industrial relations changes brought by the centre-left Labor government and the return of unions to the Pilbara mining region after decades of absence.

BHP’s head of iron ore, Tim Day, said his workers were some of the highest paid in the country but that changes to laws, including allowing union members access to mine sites, made it harder for the company to operate.

“You’re competing on a global scale on everything, you’re trying to gain investment, you’re trying to gain a cheaper product … and so it does impact. It’s already impacting,” he said.

BHP’s shares closed 2.91% higher at A$62.31, while the broader benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1.6% higher.

($1 = 1.3978 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Helen Clark in Perth and Christine Chen in Sydney and Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona, Rashmi Aich and Jamie Freed)