The mining union has stepped up its campaign to boost conditions for labour hire workers with an advertising campaign which rolled out across the Hunter on Friday.
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Mining and Energy Union district president Robin Williams said in Cessnock on Friday that the Albanese government's proposed "Same Job Same Pay" laws would lead to better pay for labour-hire staff.
"We have seen extremely misleading ads and information being spread by the Minerals Council and employer groups about what this legislation will mean," he said.
"We are committed to getting the message out into regional mining communities and talking to those who will benefit from Same Job Same Pay."
The union has produced television, print and social media advertisements to spread its message.
"The mining industry here in the Hunter Valley pioneered the business model that has seen whole sections of the workforce outsourced to labour hire, and that's why our ads will resonate in the community," Mr Williams said.
The Minerals Council launched an advertising campaign early this month, arguing the legislation could reduce worker incentives, productivity and wage growth.
The peak industry group said in a statement last week that it wanted "service" contractors to be excluded from the legislation.
"The policy should then only apply to labour hire where the government can prove there is, in fact, a problem," it said.
Mr Williams said the laws would close the "loophole" which allowed companies to avoid paying the wages and conditions negotiated under site enterprise agreements by outsourcing jobs to labour hire companies paying "barely above the legal minimum".
He said labour hire workers on many sites were paid $30,000 to $50,000 a year less than permanent workers doing the same job.
A report commissioned by the MEU last year found labour hire "wage cutting" was costing Hunter workers and communities about $250 million a year.
"That means the Hunter Valley will be one of the biggest regional beneficiaries from Same Job Same Pay laws for labour hire workers," Mr Williams said.
He said BHP's warning this week that the laws would cost it $1.5 billion a year was a "striking admission of how much they have taken out of mining workers' and mining communities' pockets".
The MEU says latest data from Coal Services shows 43.2 per cent of open-cut and 21.9 per cent of underground miners in the NSW Northern District are contractors.
Hunter mine worker Rebecca McDonald about a third of her 100-strong production crew were labour-hire employees.
"Once they've finished training, contractors do the same work as permanent workers, but they are paid much less and they miss out on the entitlements available under our enterprise agreement," she said.
"Labour hire workers fear that, if they join the union, take leave or raise a safety concern, they will never get a permanent job.
"I was labour hire for about five years and it was exhausting and demoralising."
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
