Fair Work Commission hearings as part of a case against BHP have begun in Brisbane, reported ABC News. The news organization said the case will test the Australian government’s Same Job, Same Pay laws.
The Mining and Energy Union is accusing the miner of underpaying labour hire workers at its Peak Downs, Saraji and Goonyella Riverside mines. MEU seeks to boost the pay of 1,600 BHP labour hire workers across the Queensland mines.
The case is set to determine whether labour hire mineworkers, including those employed by BHP’s in-house labour hire subsidiary Operations Services, are eligible for Same Job, Same Pay.
The laws, which came into effect last year, were designed to close labour hire loopholes, requiring employees from labour hire firms be offered the same pay and conditions as full-time employees if they do the same work.
BHP has fought the application in the Fair Work Commission, stating those employed under its Operations Services model are service contractors, not labour hires. The miner said employees under its OS models were more than “mere labour supply,” and the work was more “specialist or expert in nature.”
“Payment under those agreements is tied to a range of performance metrics, not labour hours,” BHP added.
Source: ABC News