WOLLONGONG — At a meeting at Brandon Park on February 5, 3000 BHP Port Kembla steelworkers voted for an immediate 24-hour strike, a series of rolling stoppages and called for a national steel union delegates meeting to discuss a campaign against the contracting out of “non-strategic maintenance work”. More than 200 maintenance workers at the sinter plant held a snap 24-hour strike on February 6, costing the company $1.5 million.

Australian Workers Union (AWU) branch secretary Andy Gillepsie explained BHP's plan would mean the loss of an expected 800 jobs, to be replaced by contractors' workers paid lower wages and with worse conditions. There is no guarantee that BHP workers will be hired by contractors.

Union delegate Tom Rafferty put the motion for a national delegates' meeting in light of BHP's attacks in the Pilbara and now Port Kembla. “Where next?”, he asked.

Gillepsie spoke against the motion, arguing a national campaign was unlikely to be supported, as workers at Whyalla and Newcastle had already accepted contracting out.

Local Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) organiser Wayne Phillips argued it was time to ask for support from other workers given that Port Kembla workers had always supported other campaigns around the country. He argued that if the campaign went national, the Port Kembla workers would have “a bloody chance”.

BHP is also in conflict with its workers at the Appin, Cordeaux and Tower collieries in the Illawarra region. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has approved BHP's termination of expired enterprise agreements. The new agreement proposed by BHP will allow more contractors and the right of management to employ and dismiss workers on the basis of merit rather than seniority. It is feared this agreement may see the current eight-hour shifts increase to 10 hours, or a 50-hour week.

The three-month dispute, which has resulted in 22 days of strike action, also involves negotiations over pay. The BHP miners have not had a pay rise since 1992, other than CPI rises. The CFMEU is demanding a 15% pay rise over two years.

BHP on February 8 announced $1.4 billion half-yearly profit, an increase of 18%.

A solidarity group for the BHP workers was established on January 31. The group will hold a public forum at 7pm, Friday, March 9, at the Illawarra Migrant Resource Centre, corner Market and Kembla Streets, Wollongong. Phone 4226 2010.

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