Whitehaven Coal has issued a stinging rebuke on the multi-employer bargaining regime.
Whitehaven Coal, Peabody Energy and Ulan Coal Mines, a subsidiary of Glencore, have announced the intention to launch a challenge to amendments made to the Fair Work Act.
The Fair Work Commission recently made a decision to compel Glencore’s Ulan No. 3 underground coal operation to engage in collective bargaining Whitehaven’s Narrabri and Peabody’s Wambo Mines.
The 2022 amendments ruled the competing businesses that mine the same commodity in the same state had a ‘common interest’ that required them to be forced into multi-employer bargaining, CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia, Tania Constable said.
Whitehaven Coal has gone further saying, ‘The Federal Government’s multi-employer bargaining framework represents a return to unworkable 1970s-style industrial relations policy.’
“It is a significant step backwards for the national economy and it should concern all Australians,’ the company said in a statement.
“The resources industry is responsible for so much of Australia’s economic prosperity and resilience, particularly in our regions but, unfortunately, we’re seeing governments increasingly take this contribution for granted.
“Despite initially providing assurances that miners would not be impacted, the Federal Government’s outdated multi-employer bargaining laws are now set to drag the industry back to the flawed ways of the past and put future jobs and investment at risk.”
Related: Companies voice their concerns on multi-employer bargaining
The Mining and Energy Union was a little more circumspect on the Fair Work Commission decision.
Events arising from the dispute at Oaky North occurred seven years ago and this long-running matter is now settled said General Secretary Grahame Kelly.
“Drawn out disputes that run for months or years are traumatic for everyone involved,” Mr Kelly said.
“Thankfully, they can never happen again due to new laws giving access to arbitration for intractable disputes.”
Glencore chipped in saying, ‘like other businesses in Australia, Glencore is looking for regulatory certainty and the ability to lift productivity and remain internationally competitive.’
“This industrial relations legislation does the opposite and also dismantles the reforms of the Hawke – Keating Government,” Glencore said.
“We do not want to see Australia return to the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s where industrial disputes were the norm and the Australian economy suffered as a result.
“Forcing business competitors to engage in collective bargaining creates more uncertainty, undermines business confidence and future investment, reduces productivity and will ultimately lead to more industrial disputes.”
The return of multi-employer bargaining adds to the range of policy interventions in the mining sector that make it substantially harder and more costly to do business Whitehaven said.
“Enterprise-level bargaining has proven to be a successful framework for several decades, enabling employers and employees in the mining industry to negotiate workplace-specific outcomes that recognise the differences that exist between competing companies and operations.”
“Attracting and retaining employees with the right skills is fundamental to our continued success and enterprise-level bargaining provides the flexibility to achieve this.
“It has enabled the mining industry to deliver sustained improvements in wages, conditions and productivity over the past 40 years, which directly benefit employees, employers and the broader economy.”