Union workers at BAE Systems Australia demand 30 per cent wage rise

Workers at Adelaide’s naval shipyard want a huge pay rise as they start building the nation’s $45bn frigates. See their demands.

Striking union workers at Adelaide’s naval shipyard are demanding a 30 per cent wage rise as Defence Minister Richard Marles warns of significant pressure limiting upgrades of Collins class submarines.

BAE Systems Australia is offering a 12 per cent wage rise over three years but unions are rejecting the offer, saying the workers just starting construction of $45bn Hunter class frigates are underpaid by an average 20 per cent compared to shipbuilding industry counterparts.

The campaign poses the risk of delays like those caused to the Collins full-cycle docking program in 2024, when unions wrung an 18 per cent pay rise after a bitter campaign personally targeting ASC’s boss.

Mr Marles on Monday said defence needed to manage the new equipment put onto the Collins submarines during an Adelaide life-extension program with making sure they were out the door and operational “in a timely way”.

“That management of putting capability on, but also making sure that submarines are available for operation, has always been a tension which needs to be managed by going forward. The pressure on that is really going to be significant, and we will have to be really smart in the way in which we do that,” he said.

The BAE blue-collar workers walked off the job on Monday and have been waging stoppages in the past month, as part of wage talks being conducted since last July.

More than 400 Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union workers walked off the job during a BAE staff meeting on Monday, joined by about 100 colleagues from the Australian Workers’ Union and Electrical Trades Union.

Submarine workers strike at ASC Osborne. Picture: Supplied

The similar 18-month campaign targeting Osborne Naval Shipyard neighbour ASC, which along with BAE will build Australia’s AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines, centred on demands for wage parity with Western Australian counterparts.

A deal struck last November, that came into force in February, involved ASC trading off the wage increase for “shipyard control” and “boatshed recovery” – the latter needed to overcome delays on the Collins deep maintenance program.

BAE says it is negotiating in good faith, balancing worker rewards with taxpayer value for money.

But AMWU SA acting state secretary Stuart Gordon accused the firm of not “recognising the value of our skills and our work”.

“We are the highly skilled tradespeople who are building the next generation of ships for the Australian Defence Force,” he said.

“BAE wouldn’t accept lower quality ships, so why should we accept lower wages. The future of the industry is built on attracting and retaining our skills and experience.”

Artist impression of a BAE Hunter class frigate. Supplied

A BAE Systems Australia spokesman said the firm was “negotiating an enterprise agreement that seeks to ensure improvements to wages and longer-term job security for our employees”.

“We continue to negotiate in good faith with the aim of achieving an outcome that balances reward and sustainability, to ensure value for money to the Commonwealth and taxpayer.

“We will provide a further update when appropriate.”

The $1bn HMAS Rankin submarine in mid-2024 was effectively being held hostage at Osborne Naval Shipyard by a union strike threat stopping the Adelaide-built boat being taken from the water for deep maintenance.

The Collins Class submarine was tied up at ASC’s Osborne wharf for about a month, ahead of a scheduled full-cycle docking lasting two years but the submarine maintenance firm did not want to risk taking the boat from the water without a guarantee it would not be marooned by a snap strike.

Earlier in 2024, a personal attack lampooning ASC chief Stuart Whiley as the Devil and calling for his sacking was condemned by the company.

Originally published as Union workers at BAE Systems Australia demand 30 per cent wage rise