WA LNG strike averted through 11th-hour deal
The renewed threat of strikes at two huge Chevron-run liquefied natural gas plants in Western Australia has been averted after a deal struck with unions little more than 24 hours before industrial action was due to start.
Unions withdrew strike plans at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities after netting down a deal on Tuesday afternoon after the US company compromised on some key terms.
Chevron’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas plant on Barrow Island is Australia’s second-biggest.
The Offshore Alliance – a combination of the Australian Workers’ Union and Maritime Union of Australia – had been set to restart rolling stoppages on Thursday after accusing Chevron of reneging on an in-principle agreement reached last month.
However, the Alliance on Wednesday confirmed it had finalised draft agreements with Chevron that were voted up by members in a mass meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Workers also withdrew the protected action.
Offshore Alliance spokesman AWU WA Secretary Brad Gandy said Chevron America “kept altering the details of the deal even after they’d shaken on it with the Offshore Alliance negotiating team in late September”.
“It’s sad Chevron seems unable to do an honest deal, and we hope this can now be put to rest but if Chevron tries to alter the deal again our members will obviously have no choice but to consider taking protected industrial action,” he said.
“People dealing with Chevron should know this company will try every trick in the book to dud them and not to trust anything they say unless it’s in black and white.”
Chevron has yet to comment.
The deal for the two plants, which together account for about 7.5 per cent of global supply of LNG, follows a similar enterprise agreements struck with the
Read more on afr.com
