Chevron and unions at its two liquefied natural gas facilities in Australia have agreed deal on a pay and working conditions, the union said on Wednesday, ending an impasse that had led unions to threaten renewed strikes at the export hubs this week.
The Offshore Alliance said in a statement it would call off strikes originally planned for Thursday after members approved the updated pay and conditions negotiated with Chevron.
“If Chevron tries to alter the deal again our members will obviously have no choice but to consider taking protected industrial action,” the union statement added.
The breakthrough followed days of talks mediated by Australia’s industrial arbitrator, the Fair Work Commission, to try and revive a tentative deal in September which ended weeks of strikes.
Talks to finalize that deal fell apart this month after unions said Chevron had reneged on commitments and they vowed to resume strikes at the Gorgon and Wheatstone sites, which supply around 6% of the world’s LNG.
Chevron has previously said only a small number of issues stood in the way of an agreement, including reimbursement for meals and travel.
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Lewis Jackson; Editing by David Gregorio)