Hundreds of workers could walk off the job again at the world’s largest bulk iron ore export operation as a wage dispute drags on.
About half of the 450 workers at BHP’s bulk export terminal in Western Australia’s Port Hedland downed tools earlier this month over pay and conditions.
It was the first major industrial action to hit the resource-rich Pilbara region in decades, with estimates it could have cost BHP $50 million in lost revenue and the state $6.8 million in royalties.
Unions say the eight-hour strike hasn’t led to a resolution in the long-running wage negotiations and workers are fed up.
“We have given ample opportunity for BHP to come to the table with a fair offer that addresses our members’ concerns,” Western Mine Workers Alliance spokesperson Craig Beveridge said on Friday.
“Instead of engaging in the bargaining process, BHP continue to delay, distract and waste time.”
Workers gathered on Thursday night to consider further protected industrial action early in August.
This could include a 24-hour stoppage and a 24-hour ban on ship loading.
“Despite our members negotiating for months, BHP continues to refuse to put forward an agreement that reflects the workers each day,” Australian Manufacturing Workers Union WA state secretary Steve McCartney said.
“BHP wants workers to sign an agreement that locks in lower wages and weaker protections,” he said.
“That’s not bargaining – that’s asking workers to sign away their certainty.”
Bargaining for BHP’s port operations agreement started in October 2025.
The unions previously said BHP has failed to progress wage-bargaining talks for more than six months.
About 577 million metric tonnes were exported from Port Hedland in 2024/25, worth an estimated $115.8 billion.
The company said it paid $2.8 billion in state royalties and related government payments in the 2025 financial year, contributing about nine per cent of all WA government revenue.
The Electrical Trades Union, the Western Mine Workers’ Alliance (Australian Workers Union), and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union are involved in the industrial action.
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