A Minerals Council of Australia ad campaign launched today makes bizarre and disingenuous claims about the intention and impact of Same Job Same Pay laws, the Mining and Energy Union said today.
MEU General Secretary Grahame Kelly said the Government had committed to developing Same Job Same Pay laws to end labour hire exploitation, where labour hire is intentionally used by employers to undercut wages of permanent employees.
"This is a business model used by some of our biggest and wealthiest companies, especially in the mining industry," said Mr Kelly.
"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.
"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."
The Mining and Energy Union launched a campaign in support of Same Job Same Pay last week:
