The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is taking a fall today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining giant closed yesterday trading for $38.60. In morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $37.74 apiece, down 2.2%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.4% at this same time.
This comes amid news that the Fair Work Commission ruled against BHP in the miner's long-running "same job, same pay" legal stoush with the workers union.
Here's why the BHP share price looks to be catching some extra headwinds today.
As The Australian Financial Review reports, the Fair Work Commission decided late on Monday that the Labor government's new pay laws apply to BHP's subsidiary Operation Services.
The decision covers some 2,200 contract workers working at three of BHP's Queensland-based mines, who could soon enjoy pay rises of some $30,000 a year.
According to the Mining and Energy Union, the total wage increases come out to around $66 million.
ASX investors may be pressuring the BHP share price today, with the miner having earlier forecast that the "same job, same pay" laws could cost it as much as $1.3 billion a year across all of its mining operations.
Lauding the decision, Mining and Energy Union Queensland president Mitch Hughes said (quoted by the AFR):
BHP has fought our same job, same pay applications tooth and nail, trying to protect the wage-cutting employment model it pioneered. The community has spoken, and the courts have spoken. BHP can no longer use outsourcing and dodgy corporate structure to cut pay.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable had a decidedly different take on the decision that looks to be throwing up some added headwinds for the BHP share price today.
According to Constable:
This is an incredibly disappointing decision that will directly threaten thousands of specialised contractors who play a vital role in mining operations across the country. Unlike labour hire, these businesses exist to provide a specialised service, not just workers, and should never have been covered by these laws.
A BHP spokesman said the decision will clearly "have implications for our business".
He added:
Operations Services, as a mining services provider, is delivering compelling job opportunities and career pathways for 3,700 people, and productivity-enabling value for BHP.
With today's intraday loss factored in, the BHP share price is down 5.5% in 2025.
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