Sweeping industrial relations changes are widely expected to strengthen employee bargaining powers over work entitlements.
The Federal Government recently expanded multi-employer bargaining in its Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill. AMR can reveal the change theoretically allows workers from different mining companies to band together to demand bigger pay rises. If employers refuse, affected employees could simultaneously resort to industrial action at several places of business.
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) believes the proposed changes represent a shift from enterprise- to industry wide- bargaining, which has not been seen in decades.
“Reintroducing multi-employer bargaining would be a fundamental departure from nearly 30 years of bipartisan support for enterprise level bargaining, focused on boosting productivity and real wages,” MCA CEO Tania Constable said in a public statement.
“The strong contribution of mining, and opportunities for further minerals development and value-adding, must not be compromised by a reckless return to industrial disruption and wage-price inflation, which characterised industry wide bargaining in the 1980s.”
Constable estimates the changes could affect up to 59 per cent of all Australian resources workers who are covered by individual agreements on terms and conditions above enterprise agreements (EAs). Forty per cent of mine employees are already covered by EAs and only 1 per cent depend on awards for wages and conditions.
She slammed the government for inadequately engaging with employers before changing the rules.
“To legislate this far-reaching change without consultation would repudiate the prime minister’s commitment to reinvigorating enterprise bargaining through a new culture of cooperation between businesses and unions based on the common interest,” she said.
The average resources worker earns $144,000 a year, which is 51.6 per cent higher than the average salary of $95,000 across all industries. Most mine employees work full-time (96 per cent) and are hired on a permanent basis (88 per cent) according to the MCA.
“MCA strongly opposes any return to multi-employer bargaining in the mining industry,” Constable said.
Related articles
Employer approves multiple worker wage increases
Pro-migrant mining boss receives pay rise, promotion
Mine collapses after failing to cover soaring costs
$26B project operator forces workers to go on leave indefinitely.
Add Comment