Chevron, MUA settle $22m industrial relations battle
Chevron has won a decade of industrial peace after settling a $22m suit over unlawful industrial action.
Oil and gas giant Chevron and the maritime union have settled a $22m lawsuit over unlawful industrial action the company said caused delays and cost blowouts at its $57bn Gorgon gas project off the coast of Western Australia..
The settlement buys Chevron a decade of industrial peace with the union, with the MUA – now part of the national Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union – facing payment of $3m in damages if it takes further unlawful industrial action on a Chevron site in the next ten years.
The big damages claim, which had the potential to bankrupt the MUA, follows a 2012 dispute in which wharfies walked off the job at the Australian Marine Complex, south of Perth, over safety complaints.
But, according to a Federal Court ruling on Thursday, the MUA used the safety concerns about a Chevron-chartered ship as a “guise” to prosecute its campaign against the use of foreign crews to ferry equipment from Perth to Chevron’s giant Gorgon project off the WA coast.
The Federal Court carved out an exemption in the judgement for protected industrial action, but the MUA faces the immediate payment of $3m in damages if another court finds it breached workplace laws in organising future industrial action on Chevron sites.
It will also pay $30,000 as a penalty for the action.
The dispute surrounded slowdown by MUA workers employed by Patricks at the Australian Marine Complex, south of Perth, tasked with loading a Chevron-chartered ship with equipment destined for the Gorgon project, then under construction.
According to the judgement MUA members given the job of loading the ship, opposed to its use of a foreign crew rather than local workers, refused to work on it citing spurious safety concerns.
While Patricks won Fair Work Commission orders requiring a return to work, the loading slowdown continued and the vessel eventually left with only half of its cargo loaded.
Chevron subsequently sued for damages, alleging the MUA’s action had cost it time and money in delaying construction at Gorgon.
The decision comes as Chevron and the MUA, along with the Australian Workers’ Union, gear up for enterprise bargaining negotiations over pay and conditions for offshore workers.
MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin welcomed the settlement, saying it paved the way for a “more constructive” relationship with the oil and gas giant.
“We accept the $30,000 fine, which allows us to finalise this issue and move on with developing a more constructive and functional relationship with the company under the existing industrial bargaining framework,” he said.
“The Offshore Alliance joint venture between the MUA and the Australian Workers’ Union is about to commence negotiations across Chevron’s offshore operations for a collective agreement, which offers an opportunity for the parties to work together at this critical juncture as we face the challenges posed by COVID-19.”
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