Union challenges BHP vaccine mandate

The coal mining union has lodged a dispute in the Fair Work Commission challenging BHP’s mandatory vaccination policy at NSW’s Mount Arthur coal mine. The company this month announced it would be making COVID-19 vaccination compulsory as a condition of entry across its Australian sites and offices. All workers and visitors seeking access to BHP workplaces in Australia will be required to be fully vaccinated, effective no later than January 31, 2022. However the company said NSW workplaces would introduce the controls sooner considering local risk factors - making Mount Arthur a testing ground for the new directive, with first jabs required by November 10 at that site. Similar disputes are tipped to follow at BHP’s Queensland coal mines, which have a longer deadline for vaccination. CFMEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy District President Peter Jordan described BHP’s approach at Mount Arthur as heavy-handed and counter-productive. "High rates of COVID vaccination among mineworkers would be better achieved through education, access and incentives rather than threatening people’s livelihoods," he said. "There is no public health order in NSW requiring mandatory vaccination in the mining industry. An open-cut coal mine is not the same as a hospital or aged care facility. "We are calling on BHP to take a reasonable approach and work with employees and contractors to achieve high rates of vaccination while maintaining the full range of COVID safety measures on site.” The union argues its members have a legitimate concern that they may be subject to suspension without pay or even termination as a result of any failure to comply with the vaccine mandate. It argues that the BHP stance on vaccination is not a reasonable direction under the terms of the Enterprise Agreement. At the time of announcing the vaccine mandate, BHP Minerals Australia president Edgar Basto said the science was clear that widespread vaccination saved lives. “We have undertaken a thorough assessment and believe that this is the right path forward to protect the health of our people, their families and the communities where we operate – including remote Indigenous communities – while continuing to safely run our operations,” he said. “We know this raise will questions for some, and we will work closely with our workforce as we go through the process of implementing these controls at our workplaces.”

Union challenges BHP vaccine mandate

Industry Queensland

Related News

Vecco advances Julia Creek critical minerals plans

Chatham edges closer to Korella North mining lease

Push to take anti-corrosion innovation to next level

Get access to breaking mining news, now.