Court win for BHP workers

Date: 10 April 2000

The ACTU today claimed another victory for BHP iron ore workers after the Federal Court upheld an interim injunction stopping the mining giant from offering individual contracts.

Three judges of the Federal Court, as well as maintaining the injunction against BHP, also made some changes to the order and said a speedy trial of the full case must take place.

The claim relates to the alleged contravention of section 298M of the Workplace Relations Act. Justice Gray found in January that there was a case to answer that BHP had contravened the Act by inducing its employees to stop being members of a union.

ACTU Secretary Greg Combet described the decision as a great win for the Pilbara workers and the five unions that represented them.

"The unions have won the court case from the standpoint that the injunction is still in place," said Mr Combet. "This is a win from our point of view and a win for the workers who want a collective agreement.

"The only way forward for BHP after the failure of their appeal is to finalise an agreement with the unions. BHP must treat people fairly, deal with unions, and respect the right of its employees to bargain collectively."

The unions have been fighting for the right to be represented collectively since last November, when BHP issued individual staff contracts. In a departure from its traditional practice, BHP said it was not prepared to negotiate a new collective agreement.

For further information

Contact:	ACTU Media Office: Brenda Finlayson
Union:	ACTU
Phone:	0413 507 260
WWW:	http://www.actu.asn.au

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