Inpex’s record $22.5m workers’ payout

Thousands of construction workers who worked on Darwin’s $50 billion Inpex gas project have had long service payments secured with the Japanese energy giant paying a jaw dropping $22.499 million into NT Build’s portable long service leave scheme.

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THOUSANDS of construction workers who worked on Darwin’s $50 billion Inpex gas project have had long service payments secured with the Japanese energy giant paying a jaw dropping $22.499 million into NT Build’s portable long service leave scheme.

This is the largest single contribution in the history of NT Build’s portable long service leave scheme and reinforces the magnitude of the $50 billion Darwin gas project.

“In addition to the initial $3 million paid into the scheme in 2013, we are pleased to contribute a final payment of $19.499 million as a result of the Ichthys LNG Onshore Facilities,” Inpex General Manager Northern Territory, Roland Houareau said.

“This payment provides significant sustainability to this important scheme, supporting hardworking Territorians in the construction industry for many years to come.”

The portable long service leave scheme enables all registered workers in the construction industry to qualify for long service leave based on their service to the industry rather than service with the same employer.

Because the Inpex project was more than $1 billion a special provision in legislation requires an immediate contribution to be paid into the NT Build scheme with the final super bill calculated at the end of the project based on capturing the thousands that worked on the project.

“The $22.499 million truly reinforces the enormity of this project and the jobs it created,” an industry insider said.

“The money is essentially the costs the fund will incur when paying out long service leave to all the workers who worked on the project. The sum shows the thousands upon thousands of workers who worked on the project

“What it reinforces is that everyone says there is a peak workforce of 9000, but the amount of people who went through over seven or eight years was far greater than that 9000 figure.

“Every worker who passed through accumulated long service leave and this travels with them which ever job the go to.

“This a reassurance for these workers that they will get their long service leave payment