April 4, 2025
In a big month for West Australian mine workers, the MEU has secured important wins for workers across multiple pits and employers.
The MEU, along with our partner Unions, have been rebuilding union power in the Pilbara after decades aggressive deunionisation. 2025 is proving to be a milestone year in our efforts, with Rio Tinto and BHP realising they must act in response to their workforces becoming more organised and confident.
More and more WA mine workers are standing together through the MEU and Western Mine Workers Alliance (WMWA), our partnership with the AWU, to demand a stronger voice in the west coast mining industry.
Rio Tinto Paraburdoo Majority Support Petition
Workers at Rio Tinto’s Paraburdoo iron ore operations have decisively spoken up, with well over 400 signing the WMWA’s majority support petition to initiate bargaining. This will be the first successful majority support petition in decades at a major Pilbara iron ore mine in decades.
Rio workers at Paraburdoo cited flight delays and extortionate utility bills in company-owned housing as particularly motivating their desire to bargain – concerns Rio Tinto are finding increasingly difficult to ignore. Unfair and uneven pay classifications are also a particular flashpoint – a consequence of the iron ore industry’s reliance on individual contracts which can hold back the career progression and affects working conditions.
The petition has been submitted to the Fair Work Commission as part of an application for a Majority Support Determination. It is now up to the Commission to issue a determination, which would compel Rio to take part in collective bargaining.
Flight delays now compensated
IRio Tinto has agreed to compensate FIFO workers who are delayed travelling home. This is great news for both production workers and rail crew.
The WMWA put to Rio that FIFO workers whose flights are delayed on the way home ought to be compensated $100 per hour of delay.
In response to our claim and the strong show of support for union representation demonstrated in the Paraburdoo Majority Support Petition, Rio’s new policy compensates workers for flights delayed over four hours with $500, and over 12 hours with $1000.
While Rio clearly intended to neutralise a hot-button issue, it has instead given workers confidence that they can achieve outcomes when they stand together. We reckon flights are more likely to run on time when there’s a financial penalty too!
National FIFO/ Training allowances increased
Train drivers at Rio Tinto in WA have also made significant progress in their fight for fair conditions. Throughout the bargaining process for their current agreement, the MEU bargaining team repeatedly pushed to standardise the National FIFO entitlements for all Rio Tinto rail crew members. Rio Tinto repeatedly dismissed this claim when it was raised during negotiations, which would fund the travel of FIFO train crew members who live interstate.
Flash forward to today, and Rio has just announced that they will fully fund national FIFO for up to 30% of their rail crew workers, proving once again how Union pressure works.
Likewise, when the MEU bargaining team pushed Rio to increase the Training Allowance for On Job Trainers, Rio responded with a review. That review has clearly supported the bargaining teams claim, as Rio has also announced that the Training Allowance has been increased from $5600 to $7500 annually – an overnight increase of 33%!
BHP Retention Bonus
Finally, in the bargaining period for the current BHP rail crew agreement, the MEU bargaining team secured a substantial retention bonus for all rail crew members.
BHP attempted to renege on this deal via a technicality, stating that Rail Academy Trainees were not entitled to the retention bonus because they had not yet been reclassified. We challenged the company’s interpretation of the condition, and after some time, BHP agreed to comply with the intention of the agreement.
This has resulted in all BHP rail crew members, regardless of classification, being paid the $10,500 bonus.
We are seeing membership continue to grow, with more members stepping up to take on Delegate roles. Well done!
