Important Message to Kuiper Employees on the Castorone – Court Injunction

Please note: the industrial action notified to Kuiper by the Offshore Alliance on 11 September is not to occur and is not authorised by the AWU. Please contact your organiser if you require further information.

As members are aware, the Offshore Alliance has been pro-actively seeking Kuiper negotiate a new offshore construction EBA since May 2023. Kuiper dragged their feet until the nominal expiry of the 2020 Enterprise Agreement.

Kuiper’s bargaining strategy has been to kick bargaining down the road until the end of the Scarborough project. This is a strategy which has been supported by stakeholders such as Saipem and Woodside who have been hell bent on denying West Coast offshore construction workers wage parity with Bass St terms and conditions.

Time is no friend of the Union in this matter in light of the current timetable for completion of Saipem’s offshore construction work being 30^th September.

Over the weekend, Saipem’s lawyers filed an injunction in the Federal Court, seeking the Court issue Orders preventing Protected Industrial Action commencing on 19^th September 2024. The basis of Saipem’s injunction application was their claim that the Offshore Alliance did not have constitutional coverage of all work being undertaken on the Castorone that is subject to PIA. This is despite the AWU Rules allowing representation of all workers engaged in or in connection with the oil and gas industry.

The Offshore Alliance have engaged Counsel and law firm Maurice Blackburn in these legal proceedings. The Union believes Saipem are gaming the system by using legal delays to prevent workers taking their lawful right to take Protected Industrial Action. The Union is likely to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Federal Court defending the industrial rights of our members.

Today, the Federal Court heard Saipem’s injunction application. Whilst the injunction has not been granted by the Court, the Union has had to give the Federal Court formal undertakings that PIA will not take place until the Court has determined Saipem’s injunction application.

This means that Protected Industrial Action cannot take place as scheduled on Thursday 19^th September.

In today’s Federal Court proceedings, the OA asked the Court for an expedited Hearing, in light of the impending end of the Scarborough Project. We have asked the Court to list the matter for Hearing next week.

A copy of the undertaking can be found here.