Employees should be free to choose to be represented by a trade union if they wish, as a general rule. It’s a principle that makes Thursday’s first strike at BHP’s Pilbara iron ore operations since the year 2000 such an important test for the unions involved.BHP, obviously, also has a lot to lose if the strike marks the start of rolling industrial action across its mining sites. So too, however, do Labor governments in both Perth and Canberra, if this is the start of a major escalation of industrial strife in the nation’s largest and most important resources hub.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Labor’s IR laws have lit the industrial tinderbox in the Pilbara
A new era of industrial strife looms large due to the Albanese government’s IR shake-up, which primarily serves the institutional interests of unions seeking to reclaim a seat at the table.
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