BHP Workers to Strike at World's Largest Iron-Ore Export Port

By Rhiannon Hoyle

Workers at BHP Group's Port Hedland iron-ore export terminal in Western Australia will hold an eight-hour strike next week, after unions failed to reach an agreement with the giant miner following months of wage negotiations.

Union officials said the strike will happen on July 16 and that workers across the company's port operations and maintenance teams represented by the Combined Ports Unions--a group of local unions--will participate in the strike.

BHP is the world's largest miner by market value and one of the biggest shippers of iron ore, a steel ingredient mostly sold to mills in China. Port Hedland is the world's largest bulk iron-ore export port.

Workers are seeking a "transparent, enforceable agreement that reflects specialist skills, difficult conditions and significant personal costs of workers," the unions said Wednesday. Negotiations have been continuing for more than six months, they said.

BHP said it is "eager to keep negotiating constructively for a fair deal, while making sure we can keep operations running safely."

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 08, 2026 00:34 ET (04:34 GMT)