Key facts
- Unionized workers at BHP's Port Hedland iron ore export operations will strike on August 8-9.
- The strike is due to a failure to reach an agreement in the latest enterprise bargaining meeting.
- The industrial action includes a ban on ship-loading and a work stoppage.
- A 24-hour stoppage is estimated to cost BHP A$120 million in export revenue.
- Negotiations for a new enterprise agreement have been ongoing since October 2025.
Unionized workers at Australian mining firm BHP's Port Hedland iron ore export operations are set to strike on August 8-9 after failing to reach an agreement with the company. The combined port unions, including the Electrical Trades Union, Australian Workers Union, and Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, stated that while the August 4 bargaining meeting was productive, substantive issues remain unresolved.
BHP has committed to presenting an updated enterprise agreement proposal at the next meeting scheduled for August 18. The company noted that significant progress was made during the August 4 meeting, which was mediated by the Fair Work Commission. The industrial action will commence with a 24-hour ban on ship-loading on August 8, followed by a 24-hour work stoppage on August 9, with approximately 150 workers expected to participate.
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy 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. The company has been in negotiations for a new enterprise agreement with its Port Hedland maritime workforce, comprising about 450 employees, since October 2025. Records from the Fair Work Commission indicate that up to 236 of these workers are eligible to strike.
Previous industrial action by Port Hedland workers on July 16 did not prevent a loaded vessel from departing the port early on July 17, despite approximately 63 workers participating in that strike. Port Hedland is recognized as the world's largest bulk iron ore export port and is a critical hub for BHP's Western Australian iron ore supply chain. In the July 2025-June 2026 fiscal year, BHP produced 256.9 million tonnes of iron ore from its WA operations, all of which is exported through Port Hedland.