South32 refinery workers strike as $8b Alcoa takeover looms

Résumé détaillé

More than 100 South32 workers have walked off the job at one of the world's biggest alumina refineries ahead of a takeover by US mining giant Alcoa.

More than 100 workers at South32's Worsley Alumina refinery have walked off the job for two days of industrial action.

Unions claim South32 staff are being paid less and working more hours than Alcoa's workforce.

The refinery is among the assets set to be taken over by Alcoa in an $8 billion deal with South32.

Maintenance staff at one of the world's biggest alumina refineries have gone on strike as they push for improved pay and conditions.

The industrial action by South32 staff at the Worsley Alumina facility, 200 kilometres south of Perth, comes ahead of a multi-billion-dollar takeover by US miner Alcoa.Workers, alongside Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) representatives, formed a picket line along the refinery's entrance road on Tuesday morning.

In July Alcoa announced it would buy South32's major bauxite mine and alumina refinery as part of a deal worth more than $8 billion.

The strike marked the start of 48 hours of protected industrial action, coinciding with a planned shutdown at the main processing plant that refines raw bauxite into alumina at the site.

Union representatives are trying to finalise a renewed enterprise bargaining agreement before ownership changes hands in the first half of 2027.

The dispute rests on what unions allege is a significant difference in working conditions between South32 staff and those doing similar work at Alcoa.

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