ITF Asia Pacific OTFG meeting

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ITF Asia Pacific OTFG meeting

Sabtu, 04 Juli 2015 - 18:48:12 WIB | dibaca: 1313 pembaca

International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Asia Pacific Offshore Task Force Group Meeting, Batam-Indonesia, 29-30 June 2015, LNG Project Motion.

Background :
Over the next 20 years Australia, Indonesia, PNG and Timor combined are predicted to be larger suppliers of LNG than the Middle East.  This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the ITF and our affiliates because, with the exception of Australia, unionization levels at the countries where LNG is produced are low and the companies who are developing LNG projects are generally hostile to unions.

Chevron’s current militancy in Australia against the MUA and its members is a direct attempt  to remove the MUA from its Australian operations at Gorgon and Wheatstone and to deunionise the development of future LNG projects in Australia.

ITF affiliates in Australia, Indonesia, PNG, New Zealand and Timor Leste have recognized the importance of these changing dynamics for their unions and are committed to the development and implementation of an Asia Pacific Regional Oil and Gas Supply Chain Project.

This project would incorporate the ITF Congress 2014 Four Levers through :

Responding to geographic shifts – organizing and campaigning in emerging major LNG production countries of Australia, Indonesia, PNG and Timor Leste in both the construction and production phases of LNG projects.
Activating mass membership – recruitment of new members in the construction, production and shipping of LNG.
Influencing lead industry players – Chevron is considered the most aggressive of the LNG operators with current projects in Australia and significant interests in Indonesia. Chevron is suing the MUA and its members for union activity.  Chevron also has significant investments in Bangladesh and India gains made in Australia and Indonesia provide opportunities to capitalize on this there.
Consolidating hubs and corridors – the strategy is built on building membership and power along the entire LNG supply chain from construction to its end use in Utility Companies.
Also consolidating the Mexico City Policy in developing regional standards and retention Cabotage.
In order to be successful this campaign would also require coordination with Industrial affiliates in the energy sector such as (construction and operation of LNG facilities) and LNG demand (utility companies).
It is worth noting that Japanese Utility Companies are the dominant buyers of LNG with one company, Osaka Gas, buying 24% of all the LNG imported into Japan.  Korea and India Utility Companies are less significant, although still important, importers of LNG.
Japanese Utility Companies are also shippers of LNG (FOB), which leads to an engagement in the FOC campaign.  They are also significant investors in LNG Projects.
Any campaign to grow union density and power in this sector therefore needs to includes strategies to engages Japanese Utility Companies as buyer and shippers.

This meeting of the Asia Pacific ITF Offshore Task Force Group :

Recognises that the geo-economic shift in LNG Production is an opportunity to grow regional affiliates and the ITF’s overall power in this important sector but requires a regional LNG resource strategic campaign to be developed in order to capture these potential gains.

Calls on the ITF Sydney Office to work with affiliates in the region to develop and coordinate the regional and international dimensions to the campaign.

Recognises the importance of this campaign and commits to working with the ITF Sydney Office to develop, promote and implement the campaign with affiliates.

Calls on the ITF and its affiliates to give meaningful consideration to providing resources for development and implementation of the campaign recognising that Australia ITF affiliates have committed to resource the local and national dimensions to the campaign.