Inpex LNG Workers Vote on Deal as Strike Risk Looms at Ichthys Plant

Workers at Inpex’s Ichthys LNG plant are voting on a new deal, with a potential strike adding fresh supply risk to an already tight global LNG market.

(Reuters) - Workers at Inpex’s Ichthys LNG plant, one of Australia's largest, will finish voting on Friday on a new employment agreement which, if rejected, could lead to strike action.

The vote by workers at the 9.3 million metric ton LNG plant and its associated facilities comes as the Iran war has taken significant volumes of LNG out of the market and another plant in Australia, the world's No. 2 LNG exporter, operates below capacity due to cyclone damage.

Members of the Offshore Alliance, a grouping of unions, have expressed displeasure with the company's offer, arguing that pay conditions do not keep up with the consumer price index and are below industry standards.

"After six months of negotiations, INPEX has failed to agree to even the most basic claims put forward by its workforce," Offshore Alliance spokesman and AWU Assistant National Secretary Chris Donovan said in a statement last week.

The Ichthys workforce of about 430 is around 95% unionized, according to a union representative.

Inpex says its offer is fair and competitive.

"It maintains alignment of our employment conditions with the external market and meets or exceeds peer conditions in several areas," an Inpex spokesperson said.

Separately, union members are due to finish voting next week on whether to take protected industrial action, with the ballot closing on April 24. The Fair Work Commission, which oversees workplace disputes, has approved the potential action.

In 2023, a strike at Chevron’s Wheatstone facility in Australia tightened global LNG supply.

More than 20% of the world’s LNG supply has been constrained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Iran war on February 28.