Support BAE shipworkers’ action for same job, same pay

Written by: Ned K. on 16 June 2025

 

(BAE metal workers and electricians walk off the job.  CEPU Facebook page)

BAE workers at the Osborne Naval Base have been taking industrial action to win the same rates of pay as other naval base workers employed by the federal government owned Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC). The ASC shares the Osborne Naval Base in SA and also has a Base in WA. 

The story of the wages struggle by BAE workers is an example of how the Australian Government works with the overseas owned defence industry multinationals connected to AUKUS to suppress workers’ living standards. 

Last year ASC workers at the Osborne Naval Base took industrial action over many months to win same pay rates as ASC workers in WA.

This year it is BAE workers at the same Osborne Naval Base taking action to win same pay rates as the ASC workers.

Both BAE and ASC workers do similar work both building and maintaining navy ships. They will increasingly become involved in maintenance work on US navy vessels, both nuclear and non-nuclear-powered ones.

BAE are pulling out all their propaganda with the help of the Murdoch Press to defeat the BAE workers' just struggle for same job, same pay.

About two weeks ago, BAE workers at Osborne walked off the job and demonstrated in the streets of the CBD of Adelaide and outside BAE headquarters in the CBD.

A few days later the CEO of BAE got front page of the local Murdoch newspaper saying that if workers at Osborne got the same pay as ASC workers, their job security would go out the window. In other words, telling the workers to accept lower wages or risk no job at all with BAE doing the work somewhere else.

Both the AMWU and CEPU SA Secretaries stood up for their members’ just struggle, exposing the greed of multinationals like BAE.

About a week later, BAE tried another tack with a "heart string" article appearing in the Murdoch Sunday Mail featuring the lives of two generations of families dependent on the Osborne Naval Base for their livelihoods. The implication being that the two Unions' industrial action was threatening jobs.

The SA Labor Government Premier and Treasurer chipped in with their "concern" about the 1,000s of jobs potential at the Naval Base

BAE Profits Is Their Game:

A day later the Murdoch-owned Adelaide Advertiser runs an article about BAE expansion and upgrade of its other weapons centre in SA at Edinburgh Park, about a half an hour's drive from the Osborne Naval Base. 

The Advertiser article said "BAE's upgrade will include a new security operations centre to support the AUKUS pact and Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) along with machining facilities for extra missile production". (Monday 16 June).

The SA Government Treasurer Mulligan is quoted as describing this as a "golden era" for northern suburbs families of Adelaide. 

Perhaps BAE's expansion plans have been based on below industry standard wages to increase profits and on fear of the wage claims of defence workers at Osborne Naval Base spreading to their Edinburgh Park base.

BAE workers are highly skilled and both they and their Unions want to believe they are contributong to the defence of people in Australia. Their demands for decent pay and conditions are just demands.

BAE, Raytheon, Saab and similar multinational military industrial giants are primarily concerned with maximizing profits and are prime contributors to imperialist wars of aggression in different parts of the world.

They will build weapons of the most technologically advanced type with little regard to the needs of people in Australia.

Both federal and state governments are reliant on them and work with them.

The "golden era" predicted by the SA Treasurer is "gold" for imperialist war machines while the real needs of the working people are affordable housing for all, affordable health care including dental care and aged care and education for all children, including First Peoples.

 

 

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