Women pursue jobs at BHP

By Sarah Harris

WOLLONGONG -- Passing motorists sounded their horns and waved support as a spirited group of 100 women marched along the boundary of the BHP's Port kembla Steelworks on May 13, seeking compensation for the jobs they had been denied simply because they were women.

On May 17, legal representatives of the Justice and Jobs for Women group began their third attempt to negotiate a settlement with BHP. The negotiations are being mediated by the chancellor of Wollongong University and judge of the Court of Appeals, Robert Hope, and are expected to last two weeks.

The campaign has been going since 1980. Most of the women come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Some had won jobs at BHP as a result of a successful anti-discrimination case in the early '80s but were retrenched in the massive lay-offs of 1983.

During the 13 years of the campaign, more than 2000 women have lodged complaints with the Anti-Discrimination Board over BHP's hiring practices. Three hundred women are currently pursuing their complaints.

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