BHP leads revolt over IR changes

BHP Billiton is leading a business attack on the Labor government’s second round of changes to industrial relations laws, which the mining giant says will force it to respond to countless requests for flexible working hours and consult every time it wants to change rosters, according to the Australian Financial Review.

In an unusually blunt criticism of the government, Australia’s largest company said changes to the Fair Work Act designed to increase flexible working arrangements, additional rostering consultation, new anti-bullying provisions and right of entry changes were unfair on businesses.

The Australian Industry Group, the Australian Mines and Metals Association, the Master Builders, the National Farmers Federation and the Australian Chamber of Commerce, which have previously complained about the changes, said the bill tilted the industrial relations system too far to unions.

Union ex-leader ‘opened doors’ for NuCoal, ICAC told

A corruption inquiry has heard that former union leader John Maitland’s board position with a mining company was terminated once he had helped secure the grant of a lucrative coal licence by “opening doors” to the then New South Wales Labor government, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Glen Lewis, the managing director of listed mining company NuCoal, told the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption at a private hearing in March that the former national secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union had “done his job” by July 2009.

At the time, Maitland was the chairman of Doyles Creek Mining, a company acquired by NuCoal in early 2010. It had won a coal exploration licence over land at Doyles Creek near Newcastle in December 2008.

Glencore agrees to concessions in Xstrata deal

Several senior executives at Xstrata, including long-serving Brisbane-based copper head Charlie Sartain, have decided not to join the merged Glencore Xstrata after China’s Ministry of Commerce approved the mega-deal on the condition of copper asset sales, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Sartain, Xstrata Nickel head Ian Pearce and Xstrata Alloys interim head Loutjie Smit have joined Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis and chief financial officer Trevor Reid in turning down the opportunity to join the combined company after the merger is due to close on May 2. Xstrata strategy head Thras Moriatis and chief legal counsel Benny Levene will serve as consultants for six months, as will Reid.

Sydney-based Xstrata Coal boss Peter Freyberg is not among the executives slated for departure and therefore appears to be joining the merged company.