Chevron LNG workers in Australia reaffirm strike plans

(Reuters) – Workers at Chevron (NYSE:)’s two liquefied (LNG) plants in Australia reaffirmed their plan to resume strikes as mediated talks continued on Monday, with the U.S. energy major saying that workers were being unreasonable.

Australia’s Offshore Alliance union had called off strikes at Chevron’s facilities last month after the union and Chevron accepted proposals from the country’s industrial arbitrator, resolving a fight that threatened to disrupt around 6% of the world’s LNG supply.

Australia’s Woodside (OTC:) Energy had also negotiated with workers in August and managed to avert strikes after reaching a deal.

Here is a sequence of events leading up to the strike action:

Date Development

Aug. 9 Workers at Woodside’s liquefied LNG

facilities in Australia vote for industrial

action.

Aug. 10 Chevron and Woodside say they are holding

talks with union to avert any potential

action by the workers.

Aug. 11 Australia’s labor regulator, the Fair Work

Commission, allows workers’ union to hold a

ballot of employees to decide if they wanted

to make a decision on taking industrial

action at Chevron’s Gorgon and downstream

Wheatstone LNG facilities.

Aug. 15 Negotiations between Chevron, Woodside Energy

Group and Australian unions continue but a

source with knowledge of the matter tells

Reuters that the talks are unlikely to yield

results for days.

Aug. 16 Woodside says “positive progress” was being

made on talks with a union alliance on

disputes over the wages of workers.

Aug. 16 The Offshore Alliance says during the

negotiations Woodside was “well off the pace

on key bargaining issues including job

security and remuneration.”

Aug. 18 Voting opens in Chevron’s

facilities to let workers decide if they want

to strike due to disputes over wages and

working conditions.

Aug. 20 Unions at Woodside’s North West Shelf

offshore gas platforms announce plans to

strike as early as Sept. 2.

Aug. 22 Woodside CEO Meg O’Neil says the company has

had “constructively addressed” several

concerns of workers but said it also has a

duty to shareholders to be able to run the

business.

Aug. 23 Woodside and unions meet for another round of

talks to avoid the strikes.

Aug. 23 Chevron’s Australian unit says it would

increase domestic gas production capacity at

its Wheatstone facility.

Aug. 24 Woodside reaches an in-principle agreement

with unions to avert strikes.

Aug. 24 Workers at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone

downstream facilities vote to allow unions to

call for a strike if necessary.

Aug. 25 Unions at Chevron’s LNG facilities in

Australia warn that work stoppages could cost

the U.S. energy major billions in exports if

workers’ demands on wages and conditions were

not met.

Aug. 28 Workers at Chevron’s offshore Wheatstone

facility grant unions the power to call

strikes on their behalf.

Aug. 28 Unions representing workers at Chevron’s two

major Australian LNG complexes say that they

will take industrial action from Sept. 7.

Aug. 29 Chevron’s workers release details of

industrial action including potential work

stoppages of up to 10 hours.

Sept. 1 Chevron workers reject a company pay and

conditions offer.

Sept. 1 The offshore alliance says no meetings have

been scheduled between unions and Chevron.

Sept. 4 Mediation talks to avert strikes at Chevron’s

LNG facilities in Australia begin once again.

Sept. 5 Chevron workers announce plans for total

strikes from Sept. 14 if their demands were

not met.

Sept. 5 Some employees of Chevron’s Wheatstone LNG

facility in Australia offer to work during

industrial action in a bid to avert domestic

supply disruptions, the Offshore alliance

says.

Sept. 6 Workers at Chevron’s LNG facilities agree to

pause planned strike action for one day until

Sept. 8.

Sept. 7 Chevron’s LNG workers agree to delay the

strike until 1 p.m. local time in Perth (0500

GMT) on Sept. 8 from the earlier scheduled

start at 6 a.m. in Perth.

Sept. 8 Workers at Chevron’s LNG project begin strike

as talks between the company and the unions

fail to yield any results.

Sept. 9 Chevron starts withdrawing contractor workers

from Gorgon as the strike continues.

Sept. 11 Chevron says it sees “no reasonable prospect

of agreement” with the workers and would

apply to the Fair Work Commission for an

“intractable bargaining” declaration, which,

if granted, would end the strike and allow

the labor regulator to dictate an agreement.

Sept. 12 The office of the labor regulator said it

would hold a hearing on Sept. 22 about the

dispute, while the unions wanted it to be

held at a later date in November.

Sept. 14 Union group Offshore Alliance said a turbine

tripped at one of Wheatstone’s two LNG

trains, which convert natural gas into

liquid, on the same day strikes escalated.

Sept. 15 Workers begin a 24-hour strike at Chevron’s

LNG plants. Union representative says they

intend to extend industrial action for a

further two weeks to mid-October.

Sept. 18 Chevron says full production had resumed on

Sept. 17 at its Wheatstone LNG plant after a

fault last week cut production by almost a

quarter.

Sept. 20 Latest round of talks between Chevron and

unions at its two LNG facilities in Western

Australia ends without a deal.

Sept. 21 Chevron says it would accept the terms of a

deal brokered by the Fair Work Commission to

end the dispute.

Sept. 22 Australian union alliance calls off strikes

at Chevron’s two major LNG projects after

accepting proposals from the country’s

industrial arbitrator to end long-running

disputes over pay and conditions.

Oct. 5 Workers vote to restart strikes accusing

Chevron of reneging on commitments.

Oct. 6 Night-shift workers at Chevron’s facilities

also vote for strikes.

Oct. 9 Chevron asks the Fair Works Commission to

help resolve the dispute again as unions

announce Oct. 19 as the date for fresh

strikes.

Oct. 16 Workers at Chevron’s LNG facilities reaffirm

their plan to resume strikes as mediated

talks continue.