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20 March, 2000The unions and the mineral and metals multinational are talking to each other.
AUSTRALIA: The IMF-affiliated Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union reports that at a meeting which took place on March 15-16 at Port Hedland in the Pilbara between the unions and the mineral and metals multinational, BHP, the company agreed to negotiate a collective agreement for those workers who did not sign individual contracts. Management's offer, however, of a collective agreement based on the individual contracts was rejected by the unions, but in further negotiations during the two-day discussions the company significantly changed its position in relation to union representation rights.
The AMWU says that major differences still exist between BHP and the unions on such points as:
- Union representation rights must be part of the registered collective agreement. (At present, BHP wants these rights contained in a separate document like the old Industrial Relations Agreement.)
- Union representation rights must contain a commitment to negotiate another collective agreement when this collective agreement expires.
- The duration of the collective agreement should be three years (and not five).
- If BHP introduces workplace change, there must be appropriate safeguards concerning such issues as rosters, staff handbook, wage reviews, hours of work, contractors and redundancy.
The dispute at BHP began about six months ago when the company denied collective representation to its workforce at the Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia. The IMF's Australian affiliates won an interim Federal Court injunction on January 31 restraining BHP from approaching its iron ore workers to sign individual contracts.
The AMWU says that major differences still exist between BHP and the unions on such points as:
- Union representation rights must be part of the registered collective agreement. (At present, BHP wants these rights contained in a separate document like the old Industrial Relations Agreement.)
- Union representation rights must contain a commitment to negotiate another collective agreement when this collective agreement expires.
- The duration of the collective agreement should be three years (and not five).
- If BHP introduces workplace change, there must be appropriate safeguards concerning such issues as rosters, staff handbook, wage reviews, hours of work, contractors and redundancy.
The dispute at BHP began about six months ago when the company denied collective representation to its workforce at the Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia. The IMF's Australian affiliates won an interim Federal Court injunction on January 31 restraining BHP from approaching its iron ore workers to sign individual contracts.