On Sunday, unions at Woodside Energy Group’s North West Shelf offshore gas platforms announced they planned to begin a strike as soon as September 2nd, in a move which could disrupt liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments from major global exporter Australia.
The proposed strike is the latest move in a long-running conflict between Woodside and its employees over the pay and working conditions on the company’s North West Shelf gas platforms, which supply the largest LNG plant in Australia.
Under Australian law, unions must give companies a warning seven working days before they take any industrial action, however once having given warning, they are free to call off the action prior to its start.
In Facebook post, the Offshore Alliance, a combination of the Maritime Union of Australia and Australian Workers’ Union, announced that it had “unanimously endorsed” issuing a seven working day’s notice to Woodside of the impending strike, which will occur should its bargaining claims not be met by the close of business Wednesday. That would put the earliest start of the strike at September 2nd.
In a statement, Offshore Alliance spokesperson Brad Gandy said, “Woodside tried every tactic it could think of to avoid bargaining with its workers as a collective, but in the end the company failed to maintain the status quo it liked – one where what the company says goes.” Offshore Alliance members don’t take industrial action lightly, but Woodside is really leaving them with little choice here.”
Woodside declined to comment through a spokesperson, referring to previous comments in which the company said it “continues to engage actively and constructively in the bargaining process.”
Following the approval of the Australian Fair Work Commission for a “protected industrial action” to proceed, roughly 99% of Woodside workers voted their approval for a range of industrial actions, including work stoppages.
Workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG plants are also represented by the Offshore Alliance. Those workers began voting on Friday on whether they would grant permission to unions to call for strikes. The first results of those votes are due Thursday.
Woodside and Chevron’s Australian facilities combined supply roughly 10% of the global supply of LNG. European gas prices have been volatile recently as traders factored in fears over disruptions in the Australian supply, which could lead to Asian buyers competing for European supplies.
