BHP Electrical Workers Moving Toward Strike Vote at Port Hedland

Hundreds of electrical workers employed by BHP at Port Hedland in Western Australia are heading toward a vote on potential strike action, the union representing them confirmed on Friday. The move has put fresh attention on the risk of disruptions at one of the biggest iron ore export terminals anywhere in the world.

The Electrical Trades Union said it had kicked off the formal process for members to authorise industrial action. If a pay agreement isn't reached with BHP, the union said a strike could "very likely" happen before the end of June.

Workers are pushing for better pay and improved conditions, and the prospect of work stoppages has already got superannuation funds and investors paying attention.

ETU state secretary Adam Woodage didn't hold back at a press conference in Perth on Friday.

BHP have stalled negotiations for up to six months. There's been little movement from the company, and what movement has come has been an insult to our members.

BHP confirmed it was in negotiations with its port operations teams over a new agreement. A company spokesperson said that if union disruptions did occur, BHP had contingency plans ready to keep people safe and operations running.

Port Hedland handles more iron ore than any other port in Australia and sits among the largest loading facilities in the world. It connects directly to BHP's network of Pilbara mines and handles every tonne of iron ore BHP ships out of Western Australia.

The labour agreement in question covers around 450 port workers in total, with ETU members making up roughly 200 of those. Unionised workers are set to vote over the next two weeks on whether to endorse work stoppages that could run anywhere from 15 minutes to a full 24 hours.

"We anticipate they'll endorse taking that action,  pointing to BHP's roughly A$15 billion profit last year as evidence the company had room to move.

Investors Taking Notice

The concern isn't just coming from workers. Superannuation funds and investors have flagged worries about what a strike could do to export volumes. Union members confirmed they sat down with asset manager BlackRock in Perth on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Australian Financial Review Mining Summit, a meeting that had been reported earlier by The Australian.

The topic of industrial relations ran through much of the day at the summit, with several panellists expressing frustration over changes brought in by the Labor government — including rules giving union members access to mine sites — that they argued had shifted the operating environment significantly after decades without a union presence in the Pilbara.

BHP's iron ore chief Tim Day acknowledged his workers were among the highest paid in the country but said the legislative changes were making it harder to stay competitive.

"You're competing on a global scale on everything, you're trying to gain investment, you're trying to gain a cheaper product... and so it does impact. It's already impacting

Source: ( Reuters , Company Analysis )