More than 400 critical defence shipbuilders at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide are walking off the job at 10:30 am today, escalating their campaign for fair wages.
The workers, who are members of the AMWU, AWU, and ETU members, will march to BAE Systems Australia’s Flinders Street headquarters to protest a pay deal that significantly undervalues their skills and contribution to national defence.
These workers are building the Hunter Class Frigates, one of the country's most strategically important defence projects. Yet while their work is critical to Australia's naval future and the success of the AUKUS program, their pay remains up to 20% below the going rate in the shipbuilding industry.
“These are highly skilled workers. They are welders, boilermakers, electricians, fitters and riggers. SA BAE workers are sick of being treated as the poor cousin," said AMWU SA State Secretary Stuart Gordon. "BAE is offering just 12% while the industry rate has moved well beyond that. Workers are rightly demanding parity - no more, no less."
The strike action highlights growing concern that without paying industry-standard wages, BAE will struggle to attract and retain the experienced workforce needed to deliver the frigate program. This could plunge the project into a workforce crisis. A so-called "valley of death" at the very moment the project ramps up.
Meanwhile, BAE executives are reaping multimillion-dollar pay packets. Globally, BAE Group CEO Charles Woodburn received £13.45 million (approximately $25.7 million AUD) in 2024, including a reported 13% base salary increase and an earlier one-off £2 million retention payment. Other senior executives across the UK and US arms of the company also received salaries between £6 million and £8 million.
In contrast, BAE workers in Australia have faced a pay freeze, even as inflation and cost of living pressures rise. Workers in the UK, however, have secured significant wage increases during the same period.
"This is a company that can afford to do better," said Gordon. “The fact that Australian workers are getting left behind while global executives take home pay rises in the millions is a slap in the face. If BAE wants to build ships in Australia, they need to pay Australian workers fairly."
Workers have been taking industrial action since February, determined to win a deal that reflects their critical role in Australia’s defence industry.