BHP Billiton has been throughout the business newspapers over the last week following statements from the CEO, Marius Kloppers, but there was a fascinating article in the Australian Financial Review on 15 February 2010 (only available online through subscription. There is a link to the ABIX abstract HERE )
The article discusses the deaths that have plagued BHP Billiton but not its Australian rival Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto does not use contractors, BHP does. BHP Billiton has decided to cut 7,000 contractor positions in the Pilbara and replace them with employees, even though there is a skilled labour shortage in the region. This decision is seen as the company giving in to pressure over the use of contractors as. compared with the example of RIO Tinto, employees are safer. Continue reading “BHP Billiton backflips on contractors due to safety concerns”