BHP Pilbara IR battle: Iron ore president Tim Day warns ‘ship has sailed’ on industrial relations

BHP’s WA iron ore boss has warned “the ship has sailed” on industrial relations as the company battles the re-emergence of unions at its Pilbara mine sites, suggesting it was too late to fix the issue. Days after the first strike at a Pilbara mine this century, Tim Day said the end result of growing union power would be investment moving elsewhere. BHP has long argued against many of the Albanese Government’s industrial relations changes, which have emboldened unions to encourage well-paid mine workers to organise and take action. Mr Day made his comments at a Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA event on Monday with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, when asking Mr Taylor a broader question about investment. “I think the ship has sailed on industrial relations, by the way, we’re right in the thick of it now so I think it’s nearly too late,” Mr Day said. “I think it’s probably going to happen regardless of what we do . . . it will drive investment elsewhere.” The Electrical Trades Union action kicked off on Thursday, with about 50 specialised high-voltage and power workers demanding $20,000 for nightshift work, $7000 for working in hot weather, a $6240 BHP contribution for private health insurance, 200 per cent penalty rates for overtime and 300 per cent for public holiday work. The union had previously warned that its more than 6800 members in “all industries” could be involved in action, with the BHP strike “one of the first of many”. The CME has estimated demands could result in salaries per worker of $400,000. Premier Roger Cook last week warned “protracted” industrial action would cost jobs. “The fact of the matter is that if industrial action is escalated, if industrial action is protracted, that just leads to job losses. That doesn’t necessarily lead to better outcomes for those workers,” he said. Mr Day also asked Mr Taylor what he made of an overarching lack of interest from the public about an investment “cliff edge” Australia was heading towards. “There’s something missing in the way that we’re engaging — not just us, in general, around this cliff edge that we’re heading to?” he said. “Investment’s already stopped, it’s already slowing down. The general public won’t see if for five years because these are long-burn issues — but what do you think is at the core of that issue, what’s going on?” Mr Taylor said the issue with investment was bigger than mining, and had been falling across all industries over the past two decades. “We’re not seeing those bigger, longer-term investments of the scale we would like. If you would like rising incomes, if you want rising prosperity, if you want governments with the money they need to spend on defence ... and safety nets, you need to have those investments,” he said. “Investment is drying up in this country and what we all have to do is a better job of explaining why that matters. It really matters.” Mr Taylor suggested business being more transparent about windfalls that come from those investments could help the general understanding of why it was so important. “WA has the most to gain from getting that right,” he said. “We have to help people see the link between investment and their incomes and their ability to pay their bills . . . this doesn’t happen without investment.”