Key facts
- Unionized workers at BHP's Port Hedland iron ore export operations plan to strike on August 8-9.
- The strike is conditional on the outcome of a bargaining meeting on August 4.
- The action includes a 24-hour ship-loading ban and a 24-hour work stoppage.
- Around 150 workers are expected to participate.
- A 24-hour stoppage could cost BHP $83 million in lost export revenue.
- Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement have been ongoing since October 2025.
Unionized workers at Australian mining giant BHP's Port Hedland iron ore export operations are poised to strike on August 8 and 9 if negotiations for a new enterprise agreement fail to yield results by their next meeting on August 4. The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) announced that the action would commence with a 24-hour ban on ship-loading, followed by a full 24-hour work stoppage. Approximately 150 workers are expected to participate in this industrial action.
The dispute centers on wages and working conditions, with the combined port unions, including the ETU, Australian Workers Union, and Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, set to meet BHP on August 4. If no resolution is reached, the strike will proceed at the key Western Australian port.
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) WA estimates that a single 24-hour stoppage at Port Hedland could result in a loss of A$120 million ($83 million) in export revenue for BHP. CME WA chief executive Adam Morey characterized the potential strike as unprecedented for the Pilbara region, noting the rarity of such industrial action over the past three decades.
BHP has been engaged in discussions for a new enterprise agreement with its Port Hedland maritime workforce, which comprises about 450 employees (excluding contractors), since October 2025. Records from the Fair Work Commission indicate that up to 236 of these employees are eligible to strike. The total workforce at Port Hedland is around 1,200.
Previous industrial action occurred on July 16, though BHP reported that a loaded vessel was still able to depart the port early on July 17. At that time, around 63 workers participated in the strike.
Port Hedland serves as the world's largest bulk iron ore export port and is a critical component of BHP's Western Australia iron ore supply chain. In the fiscal year July 2025-June 2026, BHP produced 256.9 million tonnes of iron ore from its WA operations, all of which is exported via Port Hedland.