This application was brought pursuant to section 418 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) by AGC Industries (AGC) and 16 other contractors on Woodside’s Pluto LNG project on the North-West shelf. It followed industrial action (a 48 hour stoppage) that occurred on 1 and 2 December 2009 at the project as a result of Woodside and its principal contractor Foster Wheeler WorleyParsons (FWWP) announcing its proposed implementation of “motelling” at the project.
The motelling principle will involve a change from current arrangements where accommodation units (dongas) at the project village site are assigned to individual workers. Due to an acute shortage of accommodation, the project managers proposed that from 4 January 2010 workers returning from their rostered week off would be accommodated at any donga that was available and no longer be assigned a particular unit.
The application by AGC was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and followed an application made to FWA on 1 December 2009 by United Group Resources (United), another contractor on the Pluto project which had sought and obtained an order that industrial action stop and not be organised. That order is to remain in force until 18 January 2010.
When AGC’s application came before DP Mc Carthy workers had already resumed work. His Honour decided that given the different context and circumstances of the application compared to United Group’s application and the fact that AGC’s application was based on “probable” industrial action, it was not practicable for FWA to deal with the application on that day. His Honour decided in order to allow the respondents with adequate capacity to respond to adjourn proceedings to Tuesday 8 December 2009.
Following a further hearing on 8 December 2009, Deputy President McCarthy handed down his decision on 9 February 2009 in which he dismissed the application.
DP McCarthy concluded on the basis of evidence put to him that although the underlying issues still existed, it did not appear to him that there was a probability of industrial action occurring. His Honour paid particular regard to submissions by the unions that they would make every endeavour to prevent any further industrial action at the project regarding motelling.