The Mining and Energy Union is calling for more guarantees for workers as BHP announces its intention to offload two central Queensland coal mines.
On Tuesday the company announced its Daunia and Blackwater mines would hit the market within the next 18 months.
The open-cut metallurgical coal mines employ more than 2,500 people between them and are owned by BHP and Mitsubishi, each with a 50 per cent share.
In 2022, the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) sold two of its other central Queensland mines, South Walker Creek and Poitrel, leaving the alliance with seven sites in the Bowen Basin, including Daunia and Blackwater.
BMA asset manager Mauro Neves said the sale announcement did not mean the company was walking away from central Queensland.
Rather, he said it was reinforcing the company's position in the region as it shifted its portfolios to hard-coking coal.
"Because … [the] future of decarbonisation will require more steel," Mr Neves said.
"So we both, Mitsubishi and BHP, have recently reaffirmed that the low-vol [low volatile] premium hard-coking coals that we get out of our Queensland mines, especially our central mines, is truly part of the long-term portfolio.
"By divesting Blackwater and Daunia, and obviously this is subject to a successful transaction, we will just reinforce our positioning in the strategic projects that we want to stay [in]."
Mr Neves said there was no intention for the company to sell any other mines in the central Queensland region in the coming years.
Job security
In a statement, the union called for BHP to guarantee that the employment and entitlements of all workers, including contractors, would be protected throughout the process.
But Mr Neves said in such a competitive labour market, there was no need for job security to be formalised.
"Our intent is to sell both sites, as ongoing concerns, as ongoing operations [which will] hopefully extract the most value [for] both sides," he said.
"I really think that, in the current market, job security shouldn't be much of a concern.
"I honestly believe that much of the value that we see in Blackwater or Daunia is actually the people and the skills and the capabilities of the teams that we have on the ground."
'There needs to be a commitment'
But Mining and Energy Union Queensland president Stephen Smyth said that was not good enough.
Mr Smyth pointed to instances in the past where mining companies' operations had stalled during a sale, and a new workforce was brought in or workers' entitlements were renegotiated.
"There needs to be a commitment — these workers have given to this company for a long, long time, in excess of 50 years at Blackwater," Mr Smyth said.
"The company [needs to be] a good corporate citizen and ensure that every worker goes across if they sell it … and their current conditions and entitlements are maintained."
Mr Smyth said the union had only recently negotiated an industrial agreement between BHP and workers, and wanted to see it transferred across to new owners.
"All the leave, provisions, bonuses and everything … their wages, housing, all those entitlements [and] conditions," he said.
Mr Smyth said this applied to both employees and contractors.
