PERTH (miningweekly.com) – US energy major Chevron is facing industrial action with Offshore Alliance members at the company’s Western Australian gas facilities issuing a notice of intention to take protected industrial action.

Offshore Alliance members at Gorgon, Wheatstone Downstream and Wheatstone Platform have each voted nearly unanimously in favour of over 20 types of industrial action, including numerous work bans and complete stoppages of work.

Protected industrial action across all three facilities will start on September 7.

The decision comes after Chevron last week put two proposed agreements out for a vote, which had not been endorsed by the union, with the Alliance saying on Tuesday that these non-union agreements would likely be overwhelmingly rejected.

“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,” the Alliance said in a statement.

“Many companies across the Western Australian gas fields 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,” the Alliance said.

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 and the Maritime Union of Australia.