Vol.64/No.5 February 7, 2000
Iron ore mine workers in Australia step up fight against union busting
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BY LINDA HARRIS
SYDNEY, Australia—The battle between iron-ore miners and the industrial giant BHP widened this week as workers went on strike, cops attacked a picket line, and the unions won new solidarity in their struggle against the company's union-busting drive.
Unionists at two mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia walked off the job for four days in protest of BHP's refusal to negotiate a union agreement and company moves to force workers to accept individual contracts.
The Australian Workers Union (AWU) has organized a rolling series of 24-hour work stoppages across BHP's steel mills since December in support of the iron ore miners, who belong to the AWU and some to the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU).
On January 18, the company brought busloads of workers who had signed individual contracts to the struck facilities. When strikers sought to block the gate, police charged the picket lines in Port Hedland and Newman. Eight unionists were arrested at each site. A number of pickets were injured, as police pushed and shoved through the picket lines. The brutal assault, captured on video tape by a striking worker, was shown on national television.
In response, 4,000 coal miners at BHP mines in New South Wales and Queensland struck for 24 hours. Patrick Basher, a fitter on strike at Newman, said the cops "were being brutal" when they attacked. He added he would come back to the picket line because it was a cause worth fighting for. These miners are all members of the CFMEU.
Following two days of clashes on the picket lines, BHP won a Supreme Court injunction against the five unions covering workers in the region. The bosses claimed the strikers were acting unlawfully by blocking a public road.
Union officials agreed to comply with the court order not to obstruct or hinder other workers gaining access to the site. However, pickets kept their lines up while allowing the buses through.
On January 20, more than 450 unionists gathered to protest in the central business district of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. Trades and Labour Council secretary Tony Cooke told the crowd that it was to the great credit of the pickets, including women and children, that they had stood their ground when the police used batons on them.
As the conflict deepened, the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) said it backed the unions here. The IMF said it was enlisting support from the International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF) which represents wharfies [dock workers] and seamen. The ITWF carried out actions in support of wharfies in their 1998 battle against union-busting on the waterfront.
Labeled the "Big Australian," BHP has major operations in steel, mining, and oil, which it has expanded around the world. It is a supplier of iron ore to Japanese and Korean steel mills. The Japanese mills, led by Nippon Steel, suspended talks this week after failing to make much progress on setting prices for next year.
In the past, BHP fostered a reputation of working with union officials in contrast to rival companies like Rio Tinto, which imposed individual contracts in 1993 at its Hamersley iron ore operations.
Faced with two years of record losses, BHP's new managing director, Paul Anderson, slashed 12,000 jobs in a productivity drive against the union.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said it will take legal action against BHP on behalf of the five unions. The federation will argue that BHP has breached the freedom of association provisions of the Workplace Relations Act because it is planning to discriminate against workers for choosing to stay in the union.
Workers have been offered a bribe of between $12,000 and $60,000 to sign individual contracts. The legal action is similar to the suit filed by the Maritime Union of Australia during its fight on the wharves in 1998.
CFMEU official Reg Coates pointed out that BHP is also trying to impose its Pilbara conditions on coal miners. The company "is demanding the unconditional surrender of mineworkers' right to industrial action."
An ACTU meeting in Melbourne is set to discuss a proposal from unions in Western Australia to take 24-hour strike action at all BHP operations.
As BHP workers across Australia give a fighting response to company union-busting, other workers are also taking action to defend union rights, from baggage handlers in Tasmania, to power workers in Victoria, to teachers and nurses in New South Wales. In the first national action since the 1998 lockout, wharfies at Patrick's facilities struck for half a shift January 18 over company attempts to gut the early retirement and redundancy [layoff] agreement.
Linda Harris is a member of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia. Denis Day from Port Hedlund contributed to this article.