Originally published by Brad Thompson of The Australian
28.05.2026
Unions are threatening to shut down BHP’s only iron ore export port in what shapes as a possible dire blow to the economy.
The Port Hedland port threat comes amid a BHP pay rise offer to 1600 mine workers that has created a bitter divide between union powerbrokers fighting to regain influence over the iron ore industry in the aftermath of the Albanese government’s industrial relations changes.
Australian Workers Union state secretary Brad Gandy on Thursday said the BHP pay offer to miners was a step in the right direction while his Electrical Trades Union counterpart Adam Woodage called it a “pile of snot”.
Mr Woodage said the BHP offer was an insult to his members. He hit out at the BHP offer as the ETU threatened strike action at the miner’s port operations on top of work bans already in place across its high voltage division that ended decades of relative industrial peace in the Pilbara. A strike at the port, where BHP is trying to negotiate a pay deal with about 450 workers covered by various unions, could have severe consequences for the company and for the Australian economy.
Some 200 of those port workers are ETU members, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and its members are also threatening to strike.
In 2024-25, exports through Port Hedland totalled about $115.8bn, with the lion’s share coming from BHP. The mining giant operates eight berths at the port and in the past decade has contributed around $22.2bn in iron ore royalties to the WA government, including more than $2.5bn last financial year. WA’s iron ore sector accounts for 5 per cent of national GDP and 22 per cent of the WA government’s general revenue.
Mr Gandy called for cooler heads and an end to an all-or-nothing approach from big companies and some unions on high-stakes negotiations around pay and conditions.
Opposition resources spokeswoman Susan McDonald said the battle illustrated the impact of the Albanese government’s industrial relations policy.
“This latest escalation … is clear evidence that the Albanese government has weaponised industrial relations and that is clearly not in the national interest,” she said.
“Any threat to shut down iron ore exports is not only economic sabotage but trade intimidation at a time when Australia relies on trading partners for liquid fuels.”
Mr Woodage had lengthy talks with BlackRock portfolio manager Olivia Markham, who oversees the world’s biggest mining funds and a hefty investment in BHP, on the sidelines of a mining conference in Perth on Wednesday. He also met a top Goldman Sachs analyst around the time BHP iron ore boss Tim Day was on stage saying the mining giant was in the thick of attempts to reunionise the Pilbara and negotiating its way through Labor’s first-term industrial relations legislation.
The point of the meetings is unclear but it appears big investors are increasingly worried about the rise of union power in Australia’s iron ore industry under Labor’s first-term industrial relations changes.
Mr Gandy said the AWU and BHP were the closest they had been to an agreement covering workers at the South Flank and Mining Area C operations in more than a year of talks.
However, the ETU savaged the offer on social media, posting: “It is an insult to the workforce that BHP’s industrial relations troglodytes have rolled out this and expect workers to take it seriously.”
The details of the offer remain under wraps but it is thought to include pay rises above the inflation rate and improved conditions for mine workers who BHP claims are already the best paid in the industry.
Mr Woodage said the offer would put fly-in, fly-out electricians at MCA and South Flank working an eight days-on, six-off roster on base annual pay of about $124,000 before penalties, bonuses and allowances.
The ETU members in the high voltage division currently on strike are seeking pay closer to $400,000 a year taking into account base rate increases and improved penalties, bonuses and allowances.
“ETU members working for BHP at MAC and South Flank have been very clear that this agreement is sub-standard for skilled electricians and they will not be voting for it,” Mr Woodage said.
Mr Gandy said the vast majority of the 1600 workers at MCA and South Flank, two of the biggest and most modern mines in the BHP stable, were AWU members.
Mr Gandy, who in addition to his AWU role holds the position of vice-president within the WA Labor Party, echoed calls from the state’s Premier, Roger Cook, for sensible negotiations.
“The offer from BHP is not there yet but it is a step in the right direction,” Mr Gandy said. “It is a significant move to get close to an active and modern EBA (enterprise bargaining agreement). It won’t be put up for a vote because it’s not there yet but at least BHP are at the negotiating table. “
The Woodage-led ETA said BHP pulled in $78bn in revenue last year but “when it comes time to pay the electrical workers who keep MAC and South Flank running, suddenly the cupboards are bare”.
“This is the same BHP that just got dragged all the way through the courts over same job, same pay – and lost. Now they’ve rolled out an ‘agreement’ so weak it would struggle to stop a wobbly lunchroom table from shaking.”
In defending the AWU’s more positive response, Mr Gandy said his union was member-led rather than by union officials.
