Unions and Japanese gas company Inpex have reached a deal after months of tough negotiations and weeks of strikes, with all industrial action at the Ichthys operation to cease today.
Workers have been walking off the job since early June after negotiations broke down, threatening gas exports to Asia amid the global fuel crisis.
However, an in-principle deal was reached on Tuesday night, and regular operations will be gradually recommenced today, with a formal vote by union members expected to take place soon.
It is understood that the agreement includes 3.75 per cent annual pay rises as well as improved job security and career progression systems, which had been a major point of contention between the parties.
Inpex said loading of vessels bound for Asian export markets had recommenced.
More than 400 workers are based at the Ichthys facility, which takes gas from sites off the West Australian coast before it is processed in Darwin and shipped from the local port.
Offshore Alliance coordinator Zach Duncalfe says the union will be in negotiations with companies such as Shell and Chevron soon. (Supplied: Zach Duncalfe)
Workers are represented by the Electrical Trades Union and the Offshore Alliance, which is a combination of the Australian Workers’ Union and the Maritime Union of Australia.
Offshore Alliance (OA) spokesman Zach Duncalfe said it was a win for workers.
“These negotiations did become quite hostile … [workers] believed in the other members, they believed in the union, and they really stuck it out,” he said.
Official OA social media pages have regularly posted strongly worded claims about the negotiations and Inpex itself, but Mr Duncalfe said the relationship deteriorated due to the conduct of Inpex.
One post described the company’s actions as “industrial bastardry”, which “destroyed its relationship” with workers.
Mr Duncalfe said the process was “surprisingly hard” and “hard fought”.
He said several work agreements with other major companies, such as Shell, were up for negotiation soon, and the OA felt it had to set a “benchmark” with Inpex.
“There’s been a lot of long nights, [in] negotiations between the union and Inpex,” he said.
“For us, there were some hostile actions from Inpex … early on in the negotiations, and there were some frustrations in how they were progressing.
“I think both sides were frustrated and that bore out publicly.”
In a statement, Inpex senior vice-president corporate Bill Townsend said the company was focused on maintaining safe operations at Ichthys and ensuring reliable energy supply to the NT and key trading partners amid ongoing global market disruption.
While many Inpex workers are fly-in, fly-out staff, the company has an office in Darwin’s CBD. (ABC News)
End of lengthy bargaining
Inpex lost a bid to stop industrial action in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) last weekend, after it argued the shutdowns would cause “significant damage” to the nation’s economy and jeopardise trade ties, but this was rejected.
While the FWC was satisfied the strikes and worker bans would “threaten to cause a full production stoppage”, it found this would not damage Australia’s economy.
The ABC understands several vessels bound for Asia from Darwin have been delayed by the industrial action.
Industry lobby group Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association has also argued pay rises at Inpex would increase labour costs by 50 to 60 per cent and push the company’s average salary to more than $500,000 a year.
Mr Duncalfe challenged this figure, while acknowledging “great rates of pay” had been negotiated with Inpex.
