The Mining & Energy Union (MEU) has branded a new ad campaign from the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) “bizarre” and said it made “disingenuous claims” about the intention and impact of proposed Same Job Same Pay laws.
The MCA’s new campaign, which features two 15-second spots, said that the new law proposed by the Federal Government which would require labour hire workers doing the same job at the same site to be paid the same as directly employed workers, would remove individual rewards for hard work and experience.
The MCA added that the proposed legislation “does not mean equal pay for men and women” and would deny workers “the opportunity to negotiate more pay for harder work.”
“Same Job, Same Pay is a misnomer,” said Andrew McKellar, CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
“It’s the opposite of fair by restricting reward for effort and experience. It will take away the flexibility that workers want and businesses need. Claims that labour hire workers across the economy are paid less than employees are patently false. On average, labour hire employees are earning more than their permanent counterparts.
“Eliminating flexibility will weaken the economy, punish workers and drive up costs for consumers.”
The MEU, meanwhile, launched its own campaign last week supporting the legislation.
“It is a very common scenario to see two workers with the same experience doing the same job side by side, but one is paid less purely because they are labour hire and not a direct employee,” said MEU general secretary Grahame Kelly.
“Employers are always welcome to reward skills and experience and we wish they would. Contractors deserve to be paid more if they are specialist or meeting genuine short-term demand. Instead, employers are using the labour hire loophole to drive down wages and conditions for whole sections of the workforce.
“We are not surprised the mining industry has resorted to a scare campaign to muddy the waters about this important and necessary reform. We note they have chosen not to feature the mining industry in their ads, because mineworkers would see through the bullshit.
“Mineworkers understand the need for Same Job Same Pay exactly because they want to be appropriately rewarded for their skills and experience.”
Campaign Edge, the agency helmed by executive creative director and Cannes in Cairns keynote speaker Dee Madigan, produced the MEU’s campaign ad.
Last month, the MCA launched another campaign that sought to link the record $63 billion in taxes and royalties paid by its member organisations to the government in 2022 to Australia’s public services.
The MCA’s members include the likes of BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Whitehaven whose media and creative accounts are run by some of the biggest names in the business such as IMD, Big Red, M&C Saatchi and Zenith.
