Planned Strike at Inpex’s Ichthys LNG Facility Called Off as Talks Continue

A union group said on Tuesday it had pulled strike action at Inpex's Ichthys liquefied natural gas facility in Darwin planned for Wednesday and Thursday due to progress made in bargaining. 

The Offshore Alliance, made up of the Australian Workers Union and Maritime Union of Australia, said on May 18 it had served the Japanese gas giant notice of strike action at the 9.3-million-metric-ton facility after talks over pay and conditions had broken down. 

Last month 326 of 346 union members voted to strike, pending six days of negotiations in May, as required by Australia's Fair Work Commission.

In a statement, Inpex said it had been told the strike had been called off and that it was focused on reaching a fair and equitable agreement with employees. 

"Inpex continues to actively engage in good faith in the interest-based bargaining process facilitated by the Fair Work Commission, with negotiations continuing," the company said. Australia is Japan's largest LNG supplier, and the country is facing a possible supply crunch due to the Iran war and rising air-conditioning demand as it heads into summer. 

(Reuters - Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney and Helen Clark in Perth; Editing by Sonali Paul and Thomas Derpinghaus)

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