Instead of reaching an agreement with unions, Chevron Australia (CVX.N) will use an unproven legal technique to avert industrial action at its Gorgon and Wheatstone LNG plants days before full strikes.
After five days of last-minute discussions failed, hundreds of employees at the plants, which produce over 5% of world supply, began brief strikes on Friday. Unions plan two weeks of 24-hour strikes starting Thursday.
Chevron said Monday it has “no reasonable prospect of agreement” and would seek the Fair Work Commission for an “intractable bargaining” declaration, which would terminate strikes and enable the umpire to impose an accord.
After multiple discussions and conciliation sessions with the Fair Work Commission, no agreement has been reached since the unions want terms far above market, “Chevron spokeswoman said.
The case will be a key test of the June legislation that allows the arbitrator to push parties into an agreement they cannot reach.
With unions expected to begin full-scale strikes on Thursday, the umpire may not have time to hear arguments and decide. A first hearing in Melbourne on Tuesday at 3 p.m. (0500 GMT) will primarily address administrative issues.
“Until we have some case law, until we get some Fair Work Commission decisions on how the laws work, we don’t know (how long the process will take),” said University of Sydney Law School labor law expert Shae McCrystal.
“This section has no precedent.”
Local media stated that Virgin Australia’s subsidiary lodged the sole other application under these regulations in June. The parties struck an agreement the day before the first substantive hearings, which took three weeks to organize.
Unions and Chevron have no meetings planned, according to the FWC website.
Offshore Alliance, a combination of two unions, said Saturday it was “bunkering down for a long dispute,” the U.S. oil and gas giant can expect “losing $billions of export revenue.”
No Offshore Alliance spokesperson responded to a Monday request for comment.
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