PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Up to 500 workers at US energy giant Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone projects in Western Australia, are preparing for a two-week strike, starting on September 14.

The escalation in notified industrial action comes as Offshore Alliance bargaining representatives and representatives from Chevron were all this week appearing before Australia’s industrial relations umpire in an attempt to conciliate an outcome to the current enterprise agreement negotiations covering the three facilities.

Previously notified protected industrial action will start on September 7, which includes 20 types of industrial action, including numerous work bans and shorter stoppages of work.

However, Offshore Alliance members at the Wheatstone Downstream facility have offered to perform work during the upcoming notified industrial action, in response to news that the domestic gas plant had tripped and required work to be performed to restart and return to full production capacity.

“Offshore Alliance members are engaging in protected industrial action in response to Chevron’s obstinacy in refusing to accept an industry standard enterprise agreement to cover these facilities,” said Offshore Alliance spokesperson and Australian Workers’ Union Western Australian secretary Brad Gandy.

“Members are not seeking to negatively impact users of gas in Western Australia by engaging in protected industrial action against Chevron, and have given this undertaking as a show of good faith.

“Chevron is dragging its feet in these negotiations and unfortunately, we have no choice but to be dragged along with it. We’re not seeking to make other businesses pay for Chevron’s recalcitrance and backwards industrial relations tactics.”

Offshore Alliance said in a statement on Tuesday that its members have been consistently disappointed with the oil and gas giant’s approach to negotiations, with the US company refusing to accept an industry standard agreement should apply to their workforce.

“The Offshore Alliance and its members don’t proceed down the path of industrial action lightly. However, we’re now at the point where a period of industrial action impacting all three facilities seems unavoidable,” Gandy said.

“Chevron continues to delay by offering out-of-touch proposals and refusing reasonable claims put forward by members. Chevron knows what the industry standards are – they just need to make the offer. 

“Offshore Alliance members want to finish negotiations with an industry standard agreement. That’s not unreasonable and realistically it could happen overnight if Chevron was willing.”