The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has been accused of engaging in unlawful industrial action on the Gorgon gas project owned by Chevron, Shell, and ExxonMobil. According to a chain of correspondence between union leaders, the MUA alleged that they had safety concerns with the project to justify industrial action when in reality the union purely wanted to prevent the use of a foreign crew. The work stoppage, which took place in 2012, took place under the claim that work conditions were too hazardous and needed to be attended to while in reality the MUA has purely been campaigning against foreign workers. The union is now facing a $10 million damages claim over this alleged unlawful industrial action.
See "Maritime Union of Australia faces $10m damages claim over Gorgon action", Ewin Hannan, Financial Review, July 18, 2016