BHP Faces More Industrial Action at Coal Mines, Union Says

BHP Billiton is facing a third rouncopper processing plants in the philippinesd of industrial action in Australia this week at its coking coal mines, further disrupting output from the world’s largest exporter of the steelmaking material.

Workers at seven mining sites owned by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland state’s Bowen Basin won’t do any “non-rostered” overtime on June 30 and July 1, Stephen Smyth, a division president at the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union in Queensland, said by telephone today. Coal mine workers began their second round of strikes on June 24 and they’ll finish on June 29, said Smyth. BHP has been notified about the latest plan and further strikes are possible next week, he said. Labor unions in Australia are stepping up demands for wage increases and job security as surging commodity prices swell profits at companies including Melbourne-based BHP. Protracted strikes may bolster coal prices already driven higher by...