A resources operation may have to significantly increase wages in Queensland’s Banana Shire.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently received one of the first Same Job Same Pay applications to give the same remuneration to hundreds of workers at Batchfire Resources’ Callide Coal Mine, 115km southwest of Gladstone.
The site employs about 560 production operators, 60 per cent of whom are engaged through labour hire companies. Only 224 are directly employed by the proponent.
“The pay differential varies depending on employees’ classifications, ranging from approximately $10,000 to $20,000 a year. If approved the order would lift the pay of Workpac production employees to match Batchfire production employees,” the Mining and Energy Union (MEU) said in a public statement.
MEU general president Tony Maher revealed further Same Job Same Pay applications will be lodged for other mining operations.
“Labour hire exploitation is rife across the mining industry nationally and we are already preparing our next applications. We intend to have many applications made and approved by the FWC to deliver higher pay,” he said.
The Federal Government recently closed loopholes that mineral producers had used to outsource workers and pay fewer benefits even though they perform the same duties as permanent colleagues.
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