Offshore Alliance has announced it will recommence protected industrial actions (PIA) at Chevron LNG sites in Western Australia.
The announcement came after the union alleged the company failed to incorporate previously agreed-upon agreements into Enterprise Agreements (EA) for workers at Gorgon and Wheatstone Downstream facilities.
“Chevron have reneged on the commitments they gave the Fair Work Commission only two weeks ago to incorporate the Commission’s recommendations into Enterprise Agreements covering workers at the Gorgon and Wheatstone Downstream facilities,” Offshore Alliance spokesperson AWU WA Secretary Brad Gandy said.
Since that agreement, the Offshore Alliance has been working with Chevron to finalise the drafting of the agreements. However, the union reported that lawyers representing Chevron have been attempting to backtrack on some previously agreed-upon clauses.
Offshore Alliance members met on Friday, 6 October, and voted to recommence industrial actions.
As a result, Offshore Alliance has written to the Fair Work Commission to request that the matter be re-listed, ensuring that workplace issues already agreed upon are not lost.
“It’s disappointing but hardly surprising Chevron have welched on the deal given the bad faith they have shown bargaining with their workforce over the last year or so,” Gandy stated.
Industrial actions ceased in late September after the Fair Work Commissions released a set of recommendations, which both Offshore Alliance and Chevron accepted.
The set of recommendations released by Fair Work Commission Commissioner Riordan includes significant changes in employment terms and conditions, such as increased remuneration, job security, locked-in rosters, career progression, and returning all employees to a 40% roster.
According to Offshore Alliance, Chevron’s reluctance to negotiate EAs with the Offshore Alliance sets them apart from other major Western Australian gasfield companies that have successfully done so.
Members of the Offshore Alliance at Shell and INPEX secured an EA last year, while Woodside members just decided to endorse an EA with the company.
This leaves Chevron as the only major company in the Western Australian gas fields that does not have an industry-standard EA covering its workforce.
According to reports by Reuters, Chevron released a statement on Monday saying it is committed to a deal with unions at its Wheatstone and Gorgon facilities, seeking assistance from the Fair Work Commission to resolve issues like travel reimbursement and cabin sharing.
“We don’t believe that industrial action is necessary, given we are seeking the assistance of the Fair Work Commission to resolve the small number of outstanding items between the parties,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“We will continue to take steps to maintain safe and reliable operations in the event of disruption at our facilities.”
Updated: This article was updated on 10/10/23 at 3:05 PM Melbourne time.
