BHP has introduced coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination as a condition of entry to its Australian sites and offices, to be effective no later than 31 January 2022. All workers and visitors seeking access to BHP workplaces in Australia must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with BHP workplaces in New South Wales (NSW), such as Mt Arthur Coal, to introduce these controls sooner, due to the local risk factors. The company will also comply with public health orders in Western Australia (WA) and Victoria relevant to the resources sector.

BHP Minerals Australia President Edgar Basto said that the company has undertaken a thorough assessment and believes that this is the right path forward to protect the health of its people, their families and the communities in which the company operates — including remote Indigenous communities — while continuing to safely run its operations. “The science is clear that widespread vaccination saves lives,” Basto said. “In line with government guidance, we recognise the path forward is through widespread vaccination in Australia and we are looking at a range of practical ways to support that while protecting communities and workforces. We know this will raise questions for some, and we will work closely with our workforce as we go through the process of implementing these controls at our workplaces.”

The decision comes as BHP continues to support regional vaccination programs in NSW, Queensland, South Australia (SA) and WA, by providing an on-site vaccination trial at the Mt Arthur Coal Mine in NSW. This is an official pilot with the National COVID-19 Vaccination Taskforce and a first for the Australian resources sector, the company said, boosting local vaccination rates and informing future workplace-based programs across Australia. BHP has also funded a new vaccination hub in Central Queensland that has already delivered more than 2000 jabs, and is working with the SA Health Department’s mobile vaccination service to support vaccinations at Olympic Dam in SA. The company is also working with the WA Health Department to increase vaccination rates in the Pilbara.

AWU response

Daniel Walton, National Secretary for the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has condemned BHP’s decision to impose mandatory vaccination on all its workers from 2022, stating that the AWU strongly advocated to government and industry that COVID-19 vaccinations should be voluntary for mineworkers, with the high rates needed to protect safety best achieved through education, easy access and incentives. “BHP has not taken any meaningful steps to make vaccination easy for its workforce, before making this announcement,” Walton said. “Requiring workers to make their own arrangements to get vaccinated in their own time might be straightforward in large cities, but it is not necessarily easy in remote mining towns.”

AWU Queensland Secretary Steve Baker added that BHP has given no indication of whether it will provide paid time for workers experiencing vaccine-related side effects. Baker noted that the AWU will engage with its members to discuss this announcement, and will be considering all options, including legal avenues. “The AWU is concerned that BHP have yet again made a significant change that directly impacts on its workforce[’s] lives without bothering to talk to its workforce or their representatives,” Baker said. “Because of this tin-eared, top down approach, BHP risk alienating large sections of the workforce who might otherwise be supportive of vaccinations. Our priority is always protecting our members’ jobs, rights and working conditions.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Kings Access