We Take BHP to Court

• General News
• 16th May 2014

They've increased the time people spend at work but not their pay

The Transport Workers Union and the CFMEU are in dispute with BHP over when a rostered shift commences and when that shift ends.

The wrangle flared up after BHP installed turnstiles and checking in facilities away from the crib-rooms where employees previously clocked in.

Employees now have to be at the mine-site earlier than before and leave later.

As well as the inconvenience this causes, they are not being paid for the additional time involved.

BHP refuses to accept that workers are on the job from the moment they go through the turnstiles to when they exit at the end of their shift.

Negotiations with the company have failed to resolve the dispute.

In a move to settle the issue we have asked Fair Work Australia to make a ruling on the matter.

And we have appointed leading law firm Slater & Gordon to run the case on our behalf.

At a Fair Work Commission conference on March 12 our lawyers argued that our members now spend 12.5 hours on site during each shift – and they should be paid accordingly.

However they are only being paid for 12.