The ruling class constantly discusses its tactics
and refines its agenda in preparation for fresh attacks on the people.
Social, economic and climate crises are favoured
moments for such reassessments. The Covid-19 pandemic has been one such crisis,
with Morrison giving the green light to industry to “lead the way” out of the
crisis with new policy frameworks designed to promote growth in the
profitability of major foreign and local corporations.
Earlier this month we analysed new
demands (really, attacks) promoted by the Australian Industry Group.
But they are not the only ones lining up to tell the government what must be
done in the wake of the pandemic.
According
to its website, the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) offers full membership
to “companies directly involved in mining, prospecting or contracting
activities relating to the obtaining, concentrating, smelting ore (sic)
refining of minerals.” It also offers associate membership to “companies
which carry on as their principal business the supply of equipment, materials,
services or capital to a company eligible for Full Membership.”
The
MCA began its current campaign on May 15 when it released a paper called
“Immediate Reform Priorities to Accelerate Economic Recovery”.
Changes
to greenfields agreements
Amongst
its recommendations were proposed changes to greenfields agreements. The MCA
wants greenfields agreements to run for the life of the operation.
Greenfields
agreements are those negotiated between an employer and a union before the
company has started operations. At this stage there are no workers on
site and the company can strike a deal with a preferred union and exclude
unions it dislikes. Greenfields agreements run for four years at which stage
the workers are free to negotiate a new agreement, hopefully with improved
wages and conditions. By seeking to extend greenfields agreements for the life
of the company’s operations, the MCA hopes to lock workers out of any future
claims based on increases in their productivity and on the company’s
profitability.
The
MCA is also seeking a waiver allowing a 12-month greenfield agreement to be
made without any union involvement. A case of the company conveniently
agreeing with itself, since no-one else is involved.
On
May 29 CEO Tania Constable expanded on these demands in a press release
calling for simplifying awards and improving enterprise bargaining.
Only
a simpleton would fail to ask of the MCA “simplify awards” for whom? “Improve”
enterprise bargaining for whom? Unless we are very mistaken, these
“simplifications” and “improvements” would be for the corporations, not the workers.
Changes
to company tax rate
The
MCA paper also bleats that “Australia’s company tax rate of 30 per cent is too
high and not internationally competitive.” It calls for a reduction of the
company tax rate.
Each
year for the last five years, the Australian Tax Office, under massive public
pressure to tell us what major companies are, or are not, paying in tax, has
released an analysis of company tax payments. The company tax rate is set
at 30%. Hardly any companies pay that much. They retain any army of accountants
to avoid taxes. For each of the five years for which this data is available,
more than 300 of the biggest foreign and local corporations have paid not a
single cent in tax on earnings in the hundreds of millions, indeed billions, of
dollars.
Those
that do pay tax manage to minimise their obligations and pay far below the 30%
about which the MCA is complaining.
The
ten biggest members of the MCA are listed below, with their Australian
earnings, tax paid and the rate
|
Company
|
Ownership
|
Brief description
|
2017-18 Aust revenue
|
2017-18 Aust tax paid and rate of tax
|
|
Rio Tinto
|
Anglo-Australian
|
the world's second largest metals and
mining corporation
|
33,176,084,964
|
3,170,873,230
(9.5%)
|
|
Glencore
|
British
|
ranked tenth in the Fortune Global 500
list of the world's largest companies
|
15,694,206,513
|
239,872,883 (1.5%)
|
|
BHP
|
Anglo-Australian
|
the world's largest mining company
|
36,685,553,130
|
3,523,250,116
(9.6%)
|
|
Anglo-American
|
South African
|
the world's largest producer of platinum
|
4,720,895,769
|
311,947,890
(6.5%)
|
|
Newmont
|
US
|
the world’s largest gold mining company
|
2,399,681,101
|
266,474,855
(11%)
|
|
Peabody
|
US
|
largest private-sector coal company in the world
|
4,323,880,463
|
0
|
|
Yancoal
|
Chinese
|
Australia's largest pure-coal producer
|
4,206,512,986
|
0
|
|
COAL21
|
Various
|
includes 26 investors from among black
coal producers in Australia
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
|
Newcrest
|
US
|
subsidiary of the world's second largest
gold producer
|
428,492,069
|
39,052,552
(9.1%)
|
|
Whitehaven
|
Australian
|
Biggest ASX-listed coal miner
|
2,307,717,714
|
0
|
The
average tax rate of these leading MCA members is 5.2%. Three paid no tax at all. The MCA, which complains that its members are
operating under an internationally uncompetitive tax system, are fleecing the
Australian people of billions of dollars in unpaid taxes.
Eliminate
red, black and green tape
The MCA wants its members’ projects
“fast-tracked” by the elimination of red and green tape. It wants inward and
outward investment made easier, it wants the clean energy bodies the Australian
Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC)
to invest in fossil fuels, and it wants the government to support the
development of nuclear energy in Australia.
The MCA
pays lip service to “forming partnerships with Indigenous Australians” at the
same time as its biggest member company, Rio Tinto, shows its callous disregard
for Indigenous culture by blasting to smithereens a cave which records 46,000
years of Indigenous activity.
The MCA
boasts about high wages in the mining sector as if such wages have been
provided out of the goodness of the corporate heart.
Nothing
could be further from the truth. Wages
are high in this sector because they have been fought for by generations of
working class Australians. They are part compensation for the often remote
locations of mining operations, for the destabilising fly-in fly-out and long
day shift patterns, and dirty and dangerous work. If wishes were fishes, we’d
all swim in this sea.
The MCA
has a common agenda with the Australia Industry Group and other peak employer
bodies such as the Business Council of Australia and the Property Council.
The
government has succeeded in seducing the ACTU into sitting at its table.
Workers
must ensure that their own unions stay independent of attempts to buy the
unions off, to dampen their efforts to protect wages and conditions and shared
community concerns.
Workers
should be vigilant and ensure that an independent working class agenda
confronts the combined agendas of government and peak employer organisations.
Dare to struggle, dare to win!
……………………………………………………………….
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