South Australian submarine workers are calling for pay parity as hundreds of tradespeople critical to the survival of Australia’s future AUKUS submarine program begin protracted protected industrial action from 12pm today from the government-operated ASC maintenance and sustainment facility.
The facility is part of the Osborne Naval Shipyard, where 350 trades and operator support workers maintain the Collins Class submarines.
Currently, ASC workers in Western Australia receive 17.5% on average more than ASC workers in South Australia.
The AMWU is seeking ASC address the discrepancy with South Australian wages which have been ignored during enterprise bargaining negotiations.
The latest offer from ASC is 7% short of parity which AMWU, AWU and ETU members have rejected.
It follows similar stoppages by the maintenance workers over the last three months.
The unions have offered offsets, productivity improvements and cost-saving measures to the company which ASC have ignored.
It comes as the federal government signed a $2.2 billion four-year deal with ASC to ensure the navy's Collins submarines are still operational into the 2030s and beyond, until their replacement by nuclear-powered Virginia Class submarines purchased from the US under the AUKUS partnership.
This workforce will be critical to the future AUKUS fleet, with many of the workers currently seconded to the US for training on the new technology.
The South Australian workers are the only ones in the entire country able to perform a Full-Cycle Docking which is vital to extending the life of the Collins submarines.
The navy has only half of its submarines at its disposal, with HMAS Sheehan, HMAS Rankin and HMAS Farncomb out of action for the rest of the year.
Currently HMAS Sheehan and HMAS Rankin are out of action at Osborne, with HMAS Rankin in the water for the last two months due to protected industrial action by workers, furthering significant delays in serviceability.
Quotes attributable to Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union SA Assistant State Secretary Stuart Gordon:
“Workers are frustrated with the company. ASC has said it would address pay parity and come to the bargaining table. But clearly the company has refused to do either.”
“Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine fleet will serve an important role in our national security. The maintenance crew responsible for keeping these submarines in operation should be paid accordingly for the important work they do.”
“Hundreds of submarine experts work on the Collins Class submarines which are an essential part of Australia's current naval capability. The navy only has access to three out of six submarines now. Two of the submarines are in South Australia, with one facing significant delays due to protected industrial action.”
“ASC CEO Stuart Whiley is incompetent. He has told the government that there will not be any delays in the boats’ schedule, but those boats are stranded due to the stoppages. Clearly this will continue until workers are paid fairly.”
“ASC can afford to pay its workers. It just doesn’t want to. The argument it presents about economic and environmental factors is redundant given how the cost-of-living is affecting South Australians and the essential skills the SA team provides to ASC.”
Media contact: Sonia Feng 0478 599 580