Australia's top export sectors face rising strike threats

INPEX

24/06/2026 08:41

    * Workers at Shell could vote on industrial action as soon
as next month
    * BHP to meet union representatives for wage talks on July 7
    * Uptick in union action comes after labour law changes in
2022

    By Melanie Burton and Helen Clark
    MELBOURNE/PERTH, June 24 (Reuters) - Labour unrest has
flared up across Australia's resources sector,  with its
lucrative iron ore mines and ports facing heightened strike
risks, adding to high costs and red tape that majors like BHP
 BHP.AX  warn are eroding the country's investment appeal. 
    Mining unions have amped up industrial action since the
Labor government enacted a law in 2022 giving them the power to
negotiate wage deals that cover several employers, more scope to
request flexible arrangements and allow industry-wide strikes.
    Working days lost to disputes across the country jumped in
the December quarter of 2025 to the highest level since 2022,
according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, with workers 
fighting for pay hikes and job security as the country battles
4% inflation and three interest rate rises over the past year.
    Strike action in June disrupted shipments of liquefied
natural gas from the Ichthys LNG project, which accounts for
roughly 10% of Australia's LNG output, before its Japanese
operator, Inpex  1605.T , reached an agreement with unions.
    Global major Shell's  SHEL.L  Prelude floating LNG vessel is
up next for wage negotiations, and if it does not reach a new
employment deal, unions can apply to Australia's labour umpire
to launch strike action.
    "Seeing union victories in the oil and gas sector in the
region will tell a lot of workers that being unionised can make
a difference," said David Peetz, a professor of employment
relations at Griffith University.
    Oil and gas workers began to re-unionise before the 2022 law
changes, and ran prolonged wage fights in 2022 and 2023 to win
big pay hikes. 
    
    TOP EXPORT AT RISK
    Unions are escalating tension at BHP's Port Hedland
operations, a major artery for iron ore, where they may look to
take coordinated industrial action if an agreement is not
reached at their next meeting on July 7. 
    Port Hedland, also used by Fortescue  FMG.AX  and Hancock,
ships around $150 million of iron ore a day, underscoring the
scale of potential disruption to the country's top export
earner.
    Australia risks "losing its status as a top mining
destination" if costs and productivity aren’t addressed, BHP's
head of Australia, Geraldine Slattery, told a conference in
March. 
    Australian mine workers are already among the world's best
paid.
    If increasing industrial action leads to higher wages, "then
BHP and Rio will continue to automate as much as possible," said
analyst Jon Mills at Morningstar.
    

 (Reporting by Melanie Burton in Melbourne and Helen Clark in
Perth; Editing by Sonali Paul)
 ((melanie.burton@thomsonreuters.com Twitter: @MelanieMetals;
+613 9286 1421; Reuters Messaging:
melanie.burton.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))