Workers at Glencore's Copper Refinery in Townsville have overwhelmingly rejected the company's proposed Enterprise Agreement, with three in four employees voting against the offer - a result the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) says was entirely predictable and avoidable.
Glencore were warned throughout the negotiating process that the proposed agreement lacked the support of its workforce. Despite those warnings, Glencore pressed ahead with a vote on an unsupported document - a decision that has wasted weeks of critical time, squandered resources, and pushed workers further behind during an escalating cost-of-living crisis.
It has now been eight weeks since the bargaining committee last met - an inexcusable stall in negotiations that reflects a fundamental disregard for the workforce. With inflation running at 4.6%, every week of delay is another week Glencore workers fall further behind in industry standard wages.
"They are dragging their heels intentionally. This is yet another round of appalling delaying tactics by Glencore," says State Organiser Liam Sharkey.
"The decision to go to a premature vote has not only failed to produce an agreement - it has set the process back, damaged trust, and prolonged the financial uncertainty facing workers and their families in the Townsville community."
Workers at the Copper Refinery are not asking for the unreasonable. They are asking to keep up with the cost of living. Glencore must come back to negotiations having genuinely listened to the priority claims of their workforce, and with a revised offer that reflects the economic reality workers are living every day.
Glencore has indicated it intends to contact the bargaining committee towards the end of May following an internal review. The ETU considers this timeline unacceptable and last week called on the company to meet the bargaining committee Wednesday or Thursday this week to continue negotiations, Glencore have refused to meet.
