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Workers at Chevron Corp.’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Western Australia have voted to resume a strike, accusing the energy giant of failing to honor government-recommended employment conditions the company earlier agreed to heed.
The Offshore Alliance, a coalition between the Australian Workers’ Union and the Maritime Union of Australia, had gone on so-called protracted industrial action (PIA) on September 8 for a planned three weeks after the two sides failed to reach a bargaining agreement despite mediation by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). On September 25 in a statement emailed to Rigzone the union said it was suspending the strike after Chevron Australia Pty. Ltd. agreed to a recommendation by the FWC and union members also agreed to the terms put forward by the tribunal.
The Offshore Alliance has now said the strike would resume after consensus achieved by ballot. “Offshore Alliance members at Chevron have voted to recommence industrial action after the American petrochemical company reneged on the commitment they gave the Fair Work Commission to incorporate its recommendations into Enterprise Agreements covering workers at the Gorgon and Wheatstone Downstream facilities”, the union said in a statement emailed to Rigzone. The decision was reached in votes by workers on Thursday and Friday, according to the statement.
The Australian government’s labor mediator issued September 21 a recommendation laying out employment terms concerning work hours, lodging conditions, allowances, salary, promotion and job security. “The parties are on the precipice of achieving historical first enterprise agreements for these Chevron LNG facilities in Western Australia”, FWC Commissioner B Riordan said in the decision posted on the agency’s website. “To date, a large number of issues have been settled, on a without prejudice basis, which should form the foundation of enterprise agreements between the parties for the future”.
Chevron Australia told Rigzone September 21 it has accepted the recommendation, after initially refusing to cede to what it said were above-market-level demands by the workers. The Offshore Alliance has said its demands are for terms at par with the industry, claiming Chevron Australia is the only major player in Western Australia not to have an agreement with workers on minimum conditions of employment, or an enterprise agreement.
“After considering the recommendation, Chevron has accepted the recommendation to resolve all outstanding issues and finalize the agreements”, the company said in an emailed statement to Rigzone at the time. “We have informed the Commissioner of our position and written to the unions and other employee bargaining representatives confirming our acceptance”.
In also accepting the FWC recommendation, the Offshore Alliance told Rigzone in an email September 22, “The proposed enterprise agreements, which incorporate the Commissioner’s recommendations, contain substantial improvements in terms and conditions of employment including increased remuneration, job security, locked-in rosters, career progression and returning all employees to a 40 percent roster”.
But the latest statement from the union received by Rigzone Friday said, “Since that agreement was reached the Offshore Alliance has been working with Chevron to finalize the drafting of the agreements however as part of that process lawyers acting for Chevron have been attempting to walk back some clauses previously settled”.
“As a result of Offshore Alliance members voting to recommence PIA the Offshore Alliance has written to the Fair Work Commission to apply to have the matter re-listed, this ensures workplace issues already agreed to won’t be lost due to Chevron’s recent poor behavior”, the latest statement added.
In response to the latest development, Chevron Australia insisted it is honoring the FWC recommendation and that it continues to work on drafting final terms based on the government agency’s recommendation.
“Chevron Australia has consistently and meaningfully engaged in an effort to finalize Enterprise Agreements for employees at our Gorgon and Wheatstone gas facilities with market competitive remuneration and conditions”, the company told Rigzone in an email Friday.
“We have accepted the recommendation of the Fair Work Commission, which proposed terms to resolve outstanding claims that would form part of the proposed agreements, and we continue to work with all parties to finalize the drafting process based on the recommendation”.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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