Workers at Australian LNG plant vote overwhelmingly for strike action
FILE PHOTO: A view of a storage facility for Inpex's offshore Ichthys project in an industrial park in Darwin, Australia, April 21, 2017. REUTERS/Tom Westbrook/File Photo
PERTH/TOKYO, April 24 : Workers at Inpex’s Ichthys liquefied natural gas facility in Australia have voted in favour of strike action over pay and conditions, union group the Offshore Alliance said on Friday, in a decision that could exacerbate already tight energy supplies globally.
Over 98 per cent of workers who voted were in favour of strike action, a spokesperson said in a statement.
"The results of the ballot are clear: a huge majority of Offshore Alliance members are in favour of exercising their right to take strike action in pursuit of their bargaining claims," the statement said.
Offshore Alliance members have endorsed various forms of potential industrial action including work stoppages ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours.
Workers at the facility are theoretically able to commence strike action from May 7, though the union group said it had agreed to hold off on any action until May 15 while the two sides engage in 6 days of talks.
A strike at the 9.3 million metric-ton-a-year facility in Darwin is being closely watched by Japanese power and gas utilities that buy from it.
Australia is Japan's largest LNG supplier, and the country is already facing a possible supply crunch due to the Iran war and rising air-conditioning demand as Japan heads into summer.
An Inpex spokesperson said in a statement the company was aware of the vote outcome, adding it had not yet received any notice of industrial action and would continue to engage in negotiations with workers.
"Inpex remains focused on maintaining safe operations at Ichthys LNG, reaching a fair and equitable agreement with employees – and importantly, ensuring reliable energy supply to our key trading partners in the Indo-Pacific region amid disruption to global energy markets," the statement added.
Inpex said last Friday a majority of eligible employees had rejected a pay deal it tabled.
The Offshore Alliance, a grouping of the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers Union, had previously flagged that its 430 members would vote against the new contract, which it said does not meet benchmark industry standards for wages and conditions.
The Ichthys workforce is around 95 per cent unionised, according to a union representative.
The protected action ballot was given approval by Australia’s Fair Work Commission earlier in April.
In 2023, a strike by Offshore Alliance members at Chevron’s Wheatstone facility in Australia tightened global LNG supply.
More than 20 per cent of the world’s LNG supply has been constrained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Iran war on February 28.
