The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) posted to its socials that it has launched a landmark industrial bid that could see labour hire maintenance technicians working at Chevron’s Gorgon LNG facility on Barrow Island receive a pay rise of up to $80,000 a year.

In a regulated labour hire arrangement application filed with the Fair Work Commission (FWC), the ETU’s WA Branch is seeking orders that would compel labour hire companies Ventia Australia Pty Ltd and BR&I Pty Ltd to pay the same rates as those offered to directly employed workers under the Chevron Gorgon Operations Enterprise Agreement 2023.

If successful, the order would entitle level 3 maintenance technicians employed by Ventia and BR&I to the $161,500 annual salary set out in Chevron’s enterprise agreement – a significant leap from current labour hire pay rates.

So far, the largest increases granted under the Same Job, Same Pay (SJSP) provisions introduced by the Albanese Government have reached up to $60,000 – predominantly in the coal mining sector where the Mining and Energy Union (MEU) has led a flurry of applications.

The ETU’s application argues that labour hire workers at Gorgon are effectively controlled by Chevron, with the energy giant organising rosters, assigning tasks, supervising performance, and providing all tools, equipment, and training. Workers also use Chevron’s internal systems and must follow its policies and procedures. Flights to and from Barrow Island are booked by Chevron.

“The employers are not involved in the performance of work in any appreciable way,” the union said in its application. It contends that the labour hire workers perform duties “wholly or principally for the benefit of the Gorgon Project”.

The Fair Work Commission has directed Chevron, Ventia, BR&I, and relevant unions – including the Offshore Alliance (AWU) and AMWU, which also represent some workers at the site – to respond by 15 July, after which it will determine how the matter proceeds. The ETU has requested that the Ventia and BR&I applications be heard together.

The case – formally listed as Application by Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (ETU) re the Gorgon LNG Plant (LH2025/34) – could prove to be a pivotal test of the new labour hire equal pay regime in the energy sector.

If successful, it may pave the way for similar applications across Australia’s offshore and onshore oil and gas projects, further escalating pressure on host employers and labour hire contractors to close the wage gap.