The Victorian government has launched an emergency intervention to stop a workers' strike that could threaten the state's gas and energy supply.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Three unions told gas supplier Esso Australia on Tuesday that 600 onshore and offshore workers would walk off the job indefinitely next Friday to bring a long-running dispute over conditions to a head.
Esso, a joint venture between global energy giant ExxonMobil and BHP Billiton, is Victoria's main gas supplier and a back-up supplier to South Australia, NSW and Tasmania.
The strike promised by the Australian Workers Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and the Electrical Trade Union would affect the Longford gas plant, the Long Island Point processing and storage plant, and gas rigs in the Bass Strait, and could cut gas supply to factories, businesses, homes and electricity providers.
Victorian Industrial Relations minister Natalie Hutchins applied to the Fair Work Commission late on Thursday afternoon to terminate the unions' industrial action. If successful, the move will stop the strike and force workers and Esso to arbitration in front of the workplace commission.
Federal and state governments can apply to intervene in industrial disputes which threaten the economy or public safety.
"Any stop work action at the Longford plant could have a huge and damaging impact on Victoria and its gas supply," said Ms Hutchins, who is a former AWU official.
"We have filed an application with the Fair Work Commission to terminate this action and get the parties back to the table."
AWU Victoria vice president Ben Davis said the unprecedented strike had been threatened to "bring the negotiations and the dispute to a head".
"Our members were reluctant to do that, so were the unions, but we had no choice given that Esso tried to terminate the existing workplace agreements, that would lead to a 45 per cent pay cut," Mr Davis said.
"If the government hadn't intervened, or if their application is unsuccessful, the industrial action will go ahead."
The central issue in the almost two-and-a-half year dispute is Esso's push to move from a week-on, week-off roster to fortnightly rotations.
Esso said the unions' strike threat was "a backward step" given recent progress in the negotiations.
"We remain committed to reaching a resolution and have been offering a generous wage increase... in exchange for improvements in productivity and flexibility in rosters," a company spokesman said.
The matter is expected to be heard at the commission on Tuesday.
