Title: Woodside Energy Faces Possible Strike Threat, Threatening Australia’s LNG Shipments
Date: August 20, 2022
SYDNEY – Woodside Energy Group’s North West Shelf offshore gas platforms could face a strike as early as September 2, as unions escalate their long-running dispute with the company over pay and conditions. The strike threat raises concerns over potential disruptions to shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Australia, the world’s top exporter.
The Offshore Alliance, comprising the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers’ Union, announced its plans to strike and unanimously endorsed giving Woodside seven working days’ notice if its bargaining claims are not met by the end of business on Wednesday. This means that the strike may commence on September 2.
According to The Offshore Alliance spokesperson Brad Gandy: “Woodside tried every tactic it could think of to avoid bargaining with its workers as a collective, but in the end, the company failed to maintain the status quo it liked – one where what the company says goes.” Gandy emphasized that union members took industrial action reluctantly but felt they had little choice due to the lack of progress in negotiations.
Woodside, however, declined to comment on Sunday’s update and referred to a previous statement stating that the company continues to engage actively and constructively in the bargaining process.
The workers’ approval for industrial action was granted by Australia’s industrial umpire, the Fair Work Commission, after 99% of Woodside employees granted the unions permission to call a range of industrial action, including work stoppages.
The Offshore Alliance also represents workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG facilities. Workers at these facilities started voting on whether to grant unions permission to call for strike action on Friday, with the initial results expected by Thursday.
The potential strike at Woodside’s and Chevron’s facilities raises concerns about the global LNG market. Together, these facilities supply approximately 10% of the global market. The strike could create volatility in European gas prices as fears grow about intensified competition between Asian and European buyers for cargoes.
Woodside Energy Group is one of Australia’s major LNG producers, operating the North West Shelf project, which is the country’s largest LNG plant. Any disruption to its operations could have significant implications for Australia’s energy exports and revenue.
As the situation unfolds, the industry will be closely monitoring the progress of negotiations between Woodside and the unions, and the potential impact on the global LNG market.
Reporting by Alasdair Pal and Lewis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Sonali Paul and William Mallard