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Offshore Alliance Initiates Industrial Action at Inpex Ichthys LNG Plant

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Offshore Alliance's members union workers on Tuesday initiated an "industrial action" across all the facilities of Inpex's 9.3 million metric-ton-a-year Ichthys liquefied natural gas export plant in Darwin, northern Australia, the union's representative Horton Advisory said.

"The strike action includes union members downing tools between 6am and 8am and 6pm and 8pm, and bans on overcycle, working past 6am on [demobilization] day, and swapping between day shift and night shift without at least 4 weeks notice from management," according to a statement.

Last week, a proposed strike at the facility on Wednesday and Thursday was called off following progress in negotiations, with any potential proposed protected industrial action delayed until Tuesday.

However, in the latest statement, Offshore Alliance claimed the Fair Work Commission facilitated negotiations hit a roadblock after the Japanese energy company failed to provide a timely response or documentation required for talks to progress despite agreeing to share them by Saturday at the latest.

"The response from Inpex has been underwhelming and shows that the company is not taking the negotiations seriously. Offshore Alliance members feel that the company is now playing games and as a result will commence industrial action" the statement added.

According to an S&P Platts report, the action which commenced from 6:00 a.m. Australian Western Standard Time on Tuesday is expected to continue until June 10.

The worker's body has also provided Inpex notice of another industrial action from June 11 to June 23, according to the statement.

The worker's union was, however, added that it was committed to negotiations and willing to hold pause on the industrial action "should Inpex return to genuine bargaining."

In April, about 326 of 346 union workers at the facility had voted in favor of a strike to further their demands for better pay and working conditions.

According to its website, Offshore Alliance is a partnership between the Australian Workers' Union and the Maritime Union of Australia, and covers workers in the offshore oil and gas industry.

A strike at the facility, which accounts for about 2% of global LNG output, could reportedly have had severe consequences for the market amid the supply disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing Middle East crisis.

has reached out to Inpex for comments.

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