The Combined BHP Ports Unions has placed a counterproposal on a wage deal for workers at its Port Hedland operations in Western Australia ahead of their next meeting on September 8, it said on Tuesday, after workers rejected a proposal from BHP BHP.AX.
“We continue to make progress towards an agreement that will address key areas raised by our workforce,” a BHP spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The proposal from BHP that workers rejected before the meeting “would have maintained significant inequalities between workers,” said the union, adding that a meeting with the Fair Work Commission was planned for September 15.
BHP has spent months at the bargaining table with unions that represent around 450 operators and maintenance workers over a new pay deal. BHP employs more than 800 people at the port.
Workers seek enforceable wage and condition protections, the unions said, with workers arguing that extreme heat, long hours and time away from family mean they should not be facing lower rates than workers in cities.
(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
