INPEX Darwin facility in turmoil as contract change sparks mass redundancies
Union warns “local workers will vote with their feet to reject working more for less”
The Electrical Trades Union issued a blunt warning to new maintenance contractor Monadelphous, fix roster issues or face mass exodus.
As of 22nd November all former TRACE employees on site were made redundant and offered the opportunity to reapply for their roles under the new contractor. However, the new employment arrangements imposed by Monadelphous are far inferior according to analysis provided by the ETU’s Northern Territory Organiser Dave Hayes.
“The new roster configuration INPEX and Monos are seeking to impose without adequate consultation will see members losing between $20k- $50k a year while having to work for up to 300 hours more. These local workers are not prepared to cop working more for less.” Mr Hayes said.
“The ETU has enjoyed a relatively good working relationship with the companies in the past and in this spirit, we are urging them to seriously reconsider the impact this decision will have on their reputation as an employer of choice in the Northern Territory.”
Mr Hayes said the impacted workers at the INPEX site are highly skilled, site experienced employees who live in Darwin and are part of the local community, contributing to the local economy. The decision INPEX and Monadelphous are seeking to impose will cause a massive rethink, with many already considering their options, this will not only affect operations on site but the NT community as a whole.
“These workers have structured their lives around the rosters we negotiated in good faith with TRACE to meet the maintenance schedule requirements. Members have raised serious concerns about the impact the proposed Monday to Friday will have on things like child care responsibilities, partners working patterns, appointments etc which have all been planned around the rosters they had up until 22 November.” He said.
“INPEX and Monadelphous believe its people are its most valuable asset, it’s time for them to walk the walk and put their people first and renegotiate a fairer roster regime.” Mr Hayes said.
