EMPLOYER GROUPS recently accused unions of misleadingly claiming they had exclusive bargaining rights to Australian workplace agreements (AWA), following a dispute between the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and BHP Billiton.
EMPLOYER groups recently accused unions of misleadingly claiming they had exclusive bargaining rights to Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA), following a dispute between the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and BHP Billiton.
The CFMEU’s mining division claimed BHP Billiton had breached the United Nations (UN) Global Compact by requiring workers at its Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia to sign individual agreements rather than bargain collectively.
“BHP Billiton must end discrimination against new workers wanting to join a union,” said CFMEU Mining general president Tony Maher.
He said the UN Global Compact Office had asked BHP Billiton to respect the human rights of all its employees and allow them to bargain through their unions.
The right to join unions and bargain collectively is one of nine principles under the Global Compact between the UN and business that more than 1,000 major companies, such as BHP Billiton, have committed to.
The UN’s Guide to the Compact states that employers must “adhere to and work within the national and legislative framework of the country in which they operate”.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Anann endorsed the guide and wrote in the foreword that it is “not a code, but rather a voluntary call to action”.
He said that the Compact was “not about opening the doors to unions or having to force people to join unions ... the Global Compact does not expect an employer to alter their industrial relations framework ... to bargain collectively is a matter of free choice. It can only happen if you agree. The Global Compact does not require you to agree.”
Sixty-three per cent of the mining industry use AWAs, according to the Office of the Employment Advocate.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) said that while the UN Global Compact and conventions of the ILO give recognition to collective bargaining, they do not give unions exclusive bargaining rights, nor exclude individual workplace agreements.
“As the representative of Australian industry at the ILO, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned that union campaigns misusing international labour standards could undermine the confidence of industry in them,” said ACCI chief executive Peter Hendy.
