Offshore Alliance members at Chevron give notice of intention to take protected industrial action

Offshore Alliance members at Chevron’s Western Australian gas facilities in the state’s North West have issued the company with a notice of intention to take protected industrial action.

Offshore Alliance members at Gorgon, Wheatstone Downstream and Wheatstone Platform have each voted almost unanimously in favour of over twenty types of industrial action, including numerous work bans and complete stoppages of work.

The Offshore Alliance yesterday provided Chevron with notices of intention to take protected industrial action across all three facilities, with action to commence on 7 September.

Offshore Alliance members have been consistently disappointed with the company’s approach to negotiations with the union and Chevron not accepting that an industry standard agreement should apply to the work they perform for the company.

Chevron management last week decided that it would put two proposed agreements out to vote that are not endorsed by the union. The Alliance expects these non-union agreements to be overwhelmingly rejected.

The result of the third and final ballot of members to endorse protected industrial action was published yesterday with 100% of members voting and endorsing protected industrial action at the Wheatstone Platform.

The result follows a similarly overwhelming vote result amongst 450 Offshore Alliance members working at Chevron’s Wheatstone Downstream and Gorgan facilities last Thursday, who are also seeking an industry standard Enterprise Agreement in current negotiations.

Many companies across the Western Australian gasfields have successfully negotiated Enterprise Agreements (EA) with the Offshore Alliance to cover their workers in the last few years.

Offshore Alliance members at Shell’s LNG facilities secured an EA last year after 76 days of protected industrial action. Workers at INPEX secured an EA with the Alliance in 2022. And last week Offshore Alliance employee representatives at Woodside endorsed an in-principle agreement negotiated with the company, with a vote on the agreement to follow in the coming weeks.

This leaves Chevron as the only major operator without an industry standard EA covering its workforce.

Offshore Alliance Members at Chevron have still not reached agreement on several key claims including job security, agreed rosters, mutual agreement on transfers to other Chevron worksites, mutual agreement on the working of overcycle, training standards, travel arrangements and rates of pay.

Members are seeking remuneration outcomes which align with benchmark industry standards that apply to Chevron’s contemporaries Shell and INPEX and are soon to apply to Woodside. In negotiations to date Chevron has proposed remuneration terms lower than some Tier 2 oil and gas operators in Australian waters.

The Offshore Alliance is an alliance between The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

The Offshore Alliance spokesperson, AWU WA Secretary Brad Gandy, says the matter can easily be resolved.

“Our members at Chevron aren’t being unreasonable in their claims and if Chevron could just accept that it must provide terms and conditions of employment that meet the industry standard we could settle this matter in a matter of hours,” says Mr Gandy.

“Our members want some say over rosters to ensure they are family friendly, job security so they can’t be replaced by temporary labour hire employees and to reach agreement on other matters relating to overcycle, training standards, travel arrangements and rates of pay.

“Offshore Alliance members at Chevron would prefer to have this matter resolved without the need for industrial action, but Chevron has given them little indication that it can be,” says Mr Gandy.