When it comes to weather, Western Australia can be a state of extremes. Blistering hot summers and wet, cold winters. AMWU Bunbury organiser, Alister Robinson, knows that better than most.

Together with officials from the CFMEU and the CEPU, Mr Robinson has been forced to spend almost every working day over the last 13 months waiting for members at BHP’s Worsley Alumina project in rainy, wet or boiling hot conditions.

“The waiting room the company provides doesn’t fit the three of us.  For a couple years now, we’ve been asking to use the bigger crib room nearby.

“We’ve been flatly refused every time - with no explanation. So we’ve been left with little choice but to wait outside.”

It’s emblematic of the contempt union organisers face from many resource companies in Western Australia - where entry on site is strictly controlled and monitored by Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) representatives. 

“We have to arrive an hour prior to our meeting to be drug and alcohol tested. We’re followed everywhere we go on site, we cannot raise our flags, we’re forbidden from talking to our members unless they’re on break. We’re treated like second class citizens.”

The way BHP and CCI treat officials highlights the hostile anti-union atmosphere that exists at some major projects, according to Mr Robinson.  

“We’ve had access to a common room at other large projects. In fact this would never have been an issue at other workplaces. It’s intimidation on behalf of BHP and the CCI, it’s as simple as that.”

Mr Robinson said members working at BHP’s nearby Marradong site were forced to meet in a confined outdoor space covered with a temporary shade cloth. 

A space rendered inhospitable during days of extreme heat, yet deemed suitable by the CCI.

According AMWU WA Secretary, Steve McCartney, it’s a tactic not uncommon to sites that feature CCI representatives.

“They seek to control access to members and potential members. They’ll do anything they can to frustrate our attempts at organising, issuing our organisers with threats then checking the law later.

“We’ll continue to fight these kinds of stand over tactics to ensure our members have full access to our officials.”