Electrical Trades Union to take protected industrial action at BHP’s WA iron ore mines on April 16
Decades of industrial peace in Australia’s economic engine room is about to come to an end when union members start refusing to work across BHP’s Pilbara iron mines.
Decades of industrial peace in Australia’s economic engine room comes to an end next Thursday when union members start refusing to work across BHP’s Pilbara iron mines.
The Electrical Trades Union has locked in April 16 as the date when about 50 specialised high-voltage and power will begin to take protected industrial action.
But BHP insists it does not expect major effects from the action, sparked by pay claims the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA estimates could lead to salaries of $400,000 per worker. The union contests that figure.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“We don’t expect any operational impacts,” a BHP spokesman said on Thursday.
Full-blown strikes are on the cards if BHP does not cave to the ETU’s demands, which include significant pay rises and a large catalogue of extra allowances.
These proposed annual allowances include $20,000 for nightshift work, $7000 for working in hot weather and a $6240 BHP contribution for private health insurance.
They also want 200 per cent penalty rates for overtime and 300 per cent for public holiday work.
“This initial industrial action is measured and proportionate and will include bans on overtime, call outs, stepping up into supervisor roles for a two week period and a ban mentoring new employees indefinitely,” ETU WA secretary Adam Woodage said.
“If BHP comes to the table in good faith, there will be no need to escalate this any further.”
Mr Woodage has warned the BHP strikes — believed to be the first on a WA mine site since the late 1980s — will be “one of the first of many to occur in the Pilbara”.
“We’re over 6800 members, and that is in all industries — from lifts to mines to oil and gas construction,” he said last month.
Emboldened by the Albanese Government’s industrial relations regime, numerous other unions are also ramping up efforts to infiltrate WA’s mining heartland. BHP and Rio Tinto have been the two key targets so far.
BHP had 844 union right-of-entry requests for at its WA operations in 2025 and 168 so far in 2026, which it said has caused a major drag on productivity.
Another flashpoint in the mining giant’s war against unionism emerged yesterday after it came to light that a senior official from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union was denied access to a BHP site for failing an alcohol test.
The AMWU claimed mouthwash caused a likely false-positive reading of 0.04 blood alcohol concentration on breath-testing equipment at the site’s gatehouse.
A second test was conducted 10 minutes later which recorded a 0.02 BAC reading.
