Rio Tinto’s proposed sick leave cuts spark union backlash and fears of wider entitlement rollbacks

Thousands of iron ore workers could have their sick leave entitlements slashed, a union claims.

Rio Tinto has proposed a slew of changes to its sick leave policy, including reducing workers’ entitlement of 90 days per year to 12 days, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union said.

The proposals raised serious concerns for workers and the mining giant needed to provide more information, AMWU state secretary Steve McCartney said.

“Rio Tinto is starting with workers’ sick leave entitlements — but who’s to say wages and broader conditions aren’t next on the chopping block?” he said.

“The union will be standing firm in defence of our members’ rights.”

The union said workers had told them Rio Tinto had not provided enough detail about the proposed changes.

“That’s not good enough,” Mr McCartney said.

“We’ll support them every step of the way to ensure they’re protected throughout this process.”

According to the union, the revised policy includes 10 days of sick leave and two additional days per year, which do not accrue year-on-year

Workers will be eligible for a $1000 annual payment for wellness programs, it said.

“This is a warning to all employees and contractors — if a company like Rio Tinto can unilaterally alter leave, it could just as easily move on pay and other conditions,” Mr McCartney said.

Rio Tinto said it was consulting with its employees over proposed changes to its sick and carer’s leave policy for its iron ore business.

“Safety and wellbeing of our people is our top priority,” a spokeswoman said.

“Prompted by feedback from our people survey, we are conducting a review of the sick and carer’s leave policy for Rio Tinto Iron Ore.”

The company said the proposed changes were designed to ensure fairness for all employees.

“This includes up to 12 months of sick and carer’s leave at full pay, including allowances, in the event of serious illness or injury, which we believe would be industry leading,” the spokeswoman said.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore employs about 16,000 people.

Under the National Employment Standards, full-time employees are entitled to 10 days of sick leave each year.