The Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price is trailing the energy benchmark on Monday.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) oil and gas stock are up 0.16% to $38.46 apiece in early afternoon trade.
The Woodside share price is performing better than the 0.19% loss posted by the ASX 200. However, it's returning less than a third of the 0.57% intraday gains delivered by the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) at this same time.
Could investors be feeling jittery over the looming worker's strike?
Image source: Getty Images
What's happening with the strike action?
The threatened industrial action is being spearheaded by the Offshore Alliance, which is covering both the Australian Workers' Union and the Maritime Union of Australia in the labour dispute with the ASX 200 energy giant.
Woodside's management could still avert a potential strike when they meet with union officials this Wednesday.
If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the workers could go on strike at Woodside's North West Shelf gas platforms as early as 2 September. Workers have already unanimously approved taking industrial action if required.
While domestic gas supplies are meant to remain uninterrupted, a strike could potentially interrupt more than 10% of global gas supplies, along with throwing up some headwinds for the Woodside share price.
Offshore Alliance spokesman Brad Gandy said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review), "Offshore Alliance members don't take industrial action lightly, but Woodside is really leaving them with little choice here."
On a Facebook post, the Offshore Alliance noted:
This is an impending dispute which will ultimately stop Woodside's LNG exports whilst maintaining domestic gas supply…
Any employer who thinks we are bluffing about our preparedness to take protected industrial action and go one day longer and one day stronger than the oil and gas bosses, has found out the hard way that we don't bluff.
Woodside officials have not released any updated comments regarding the ongoing negotiations with their workers at the time of writing.
Woodside share price snapshot
The Woodside share price has been a strong performer over the past 12 months, up 17%.
