Glencore’s Shifty Cuts to Enterprise Agreements: Why the MEU Recommends Voting No
Workers across Glencore sites in the Hunter are being asked to vote on new Enterprise Agreements that contain dangerous new phantom pay tiers.
The MEU recommends voting NO wherever these shifty cuts are proposed.
These agreements introduce lower pay tiers into Glencore sites. They open the door to wage cuts down the track. They weaken Same Job Same Pay protections.
Glencore says the new tiers won’t apply to current workers. That’s not the point.
They will apply to future workers. They create a two-tier workforce. They erode wages over time.
MEU delegates and officials have raised these concerns repeatedly. Instead of fixing the problems, Glencore is pushing these deals to a vote without union support.
The pay and conditions at these sites weren’t handed out. They were won. Workers before you stood together and refused to sell out the next generation. Now we need to do the same.
A NO vote protects your workmates, protects future workers, and protects industry standards across the Hunter.
Currently Mangoola and United Wambo Joint Venture are set to have to vote on EBAs that contain this problem. Glencore are also proposing something similar at Ravensworth.
All mines, particularly Glencore mines should be alert to this issue, epescially those bargaining or soon to be bargaining.
The Glencore proposals add new pay levels that sit below current wages on site. These pay levels do not affect anyone’s pay today, instead they create a loophole that allows lower wages to be applied in the future.
These proposals also weaken Same Job Same Pay protections and allow management to reduce contractor wages on site.
Importantly, contractors do not receive a vote in this enterprise agreements being forced to ballot, yet the loophole Glencore is trying to create would directly affect their income!
Glencore is asking you to vote for changes that drag down the wages of workmates who cannot vote themselves.
That is a line workers should not be asked to cross and should not cross.
Current industry pay and conditions exist because union members before you stood firm and negotiated fair agreements for everyone. They did not sell out the people coming after them, and they did not sign off on loopholes that could be used to cut wages.
Allowing lower pay tiers into this agreement would set a dangerous precendent.
Voting no protects existing classifications, protects contractor wages and blocks loopholes before they expand.
Your vote in an EBA ballot is secret. Glencore will not know how individual workers vote. An enterprise agreement ballot has to be confidential and secure. They will be conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission.
Voting no simply means the proposed enterprise agreement is rejected and bargaining continues.
Under Australian enterprise bargaining laws,workers have the right to reject an agreement. This is a normal and protected part of the bargaining process.
Rejecting their shifty cuts tells Glencore that we will not accept lower pay loopholes or rushed agreements that dodge our union. It also shows that workers expect a fair deal that protects existing wage structures.
Glencore has advised that the Mangoola enterprise agreement vote will take place through an online secret ballot in early March.
We will update this page with more details as they become available at each mine.