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7 November, 2001Commission decides non-union contracts are discriminatory and victimise workers who choose collective bargaining rights.
AUSTRALIA: In a struggle which lasted two years, workers who resisted company pressure to sign individual contracts at BHP Billiton's Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia have won a pay rise of 26 per cent. They will receive an immediate 14 per cent wage hike, another 6 per cent boost in 12 months, plus a 6 per cent increase in pension contributions.
The decision in this long-running case, which affects approximately 500 or half of BHP Billiton's Pilbara iron ore workers, was handed down by Western Australia's Industrial Relations Commission in Perth on November 2. It represents an important victory for these workers and for their collective bargaining rights, and has dealt a great blow to the conservative government of John Howard and its attempts to coerce workers into signing individual contracts.
A union spokesman for the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union in Western Australia said that the decision of the Industrial Relations Commission would probably bring an end to discrimination against award workers and also be a signal to employers that if they give pay rises to their employees on individual contracts, they could be forced to give the same wages to those who refuse individual contracts.
The decision in this long-running case, which affects approximately 500 or half of BHP Billiton's Pilbara iron ore workers, was handed down by Western Australia's Industrial Relations Commission in Perth on November 2. It represents an important victory for these workers and for their collective bargaining rights, and has dealt a great blow to the conservative government of John Howard and its attempts to coerce workers into signing individual contracts.
A union spokesman for the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union in Western Australia said that the decision of the Industrial Relations Commission would probably bring an end to discrimination against award workers and also be a signal to employers that if they give pay rises to their employees on individual contracts, they could be forced to give the same wages to those who refuse individual contracts.