EMPLOYEES at Bechtel’s Curtis Island construction projects have voted in favour of the company’s latest draft enterprise bargaining agreement offer, putting to bed industrial unrest on one of Australia’s most important construction sites.

In a ballot involving 6,821 employees at the Curtis Island site where Bechtel is leading the construction of three landmark LNG processing plants, 54.3% voted in favour of the EBA despite a concerted ‘no campaign’ by the CFMEU.

The new EBA comes after 10 months of negotiations and covers about 8,000 workers in total, represented by the AWU, AMWU, CEPU and the CFMEU.

Despite having a minority representation on the worksite, the CFMEU has been leading a campaign to overhaul working arrangements which would place untenable cost and logistical pressures on the projects.

The successful vote ensures the worksite will not be further disrupted by a minority of CFMEU members and affiliates which recently engaged in unprotected industrial action and intimidation of employees attempting to access the island.

Speaking to local Gladstone newspaper The Observer, Bechtel Gladstone general manager Kevin Berg said the tick of approval for the new EBA comes as welcome news to the construction and engineering employer.

“There is no doubt the actions of the CFMEU and others over the past week have caused some disruptions for our employees coming to and from work, some interruptions to work on the projects and concern and frustration in the community,” Mr Berg said.

“But our employees have had their say.”

In addition to increased penalty payments from $90 per day to $115 from November, the EBA includes 2.5% pay increases every six months for the three-year agreement. Employees will also receive back pay of all additional benefits to cover the period of expiration from 1 May 2014.

For more information about Bechtel’s Curtis Island construction project, click here.