Gorgon strike called off with "historic" deal.
Industrial action at Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project in Western Australia has been narrowly averted with unions striking a deal with the contractor CB&I.
A statement from the WA branch of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union released late yesterday said a deal had been struck with the contracting firm, and planned strikes for today will no longer go ahead.
The AMWU and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) jointly applied for a protected action ballot after months of negotiations with CB&I failed to offer any significant change to the fly-in, fly-out workers’ arrangements.
The unions called for a change from 26 days’ on 9 days’ off to 20 days’ on and 10 days’ off, “consistent with the recommendations of a recent bi-partisan Parliamentary Committee inquiry into the mental health of FIFO workers,” the AMWU statement said.
“Workers today endorsed CB&I’s most recent offer of a 23 days on 10 days off roster.”
AMWU WA branch secretary Steve McCartney said the deal marked a historic win for the workers.
“Workers on Gorgon have secured the most family-friendly construction roster to date,” he said.
“This was never about the money, as many in the business community and media wrongfully asserted. This has been 100 per cent about workers’ families and mental health.”
“Our proud members have stared down Chevron, one of the largest and most powerful multinational corporations, and won.”
The AMWU claims to have some 60,000 FIFO workers currently in WA, many of them with families in other areas of the country.
A Chevron spokesperson welcomed the deal.
“Chevron welcomes the decision by the unions to call off industrial action on Barrow Island. The Project contractors continue to negotiate in good faith with the unions to finalise a new agreement.”
FIFO work can increase risk of mental health issues, WA parliamentary committee finds.
A West Australian parliamentary committee investigating the mental health impact of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) work has been unable to corroborate media reports of suicides, but has found FIFO operations can lead to a "heightened risk of mental health issues".