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Workers were "shaken" and "couldn't hear for hours" following an incident at one of the country's largest gas plants, according to the union.
Key points:
- Woodside is investigating what caused an "audible release" in a flare tower at its gas plant in Karratha
- The CFMEU says some workers could not hear for hours after the incident
- The union has raised concerns over whether the workers are being paid while the plant is shut
A Woodside spokesperson said all personnel at its gas operations near Karratha were mustered following an "audible release" in the Pluto flare tower on Friday night.
The spokesperson said all personnel were accounted for and the company was investigating what happened.
The ABC understands the plant was not operating at the time due to planned maintenance that is still underway.
Woodside said in a statement posted on social media that operations at "Karratha Gas Plant continue as normal".
Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) assistant secretary Brad Upton said he visited the gas plant on Sunday but the area where the incident happened was closed.
"I've got messages that the site's been shut, so it hasn't gone back to normal work at all, no contractors whatsoever allowed on the job," he said.
While the gas giant described what happened as an "audible release", Mr Upton said it was a "massive explosion".
"When it went off, it went off with a mighty bang and heard as far as Dampier and out in the sea," he said.
"All people were then escorted into their rooms, which are fireproof, and they weren't informed too much on what went on.
"Woodside were trying to play it down [on Saturday] that it wasn't much of an incident, but clearly it was a very serious incident."
Mr Upton said some workers were close by when the incident happened.
"Those people there were very shaken up and not in a very good place," he said.
"From reports that I got back from people that went down there as emergency services [personnel], [the workers] were very shaken up, and their hearing — they couldn't hear for quite a few hours."
Woodside did not respond to the ABC's questions about whether any workers were injured during the incident.
Acting WorkSafe Commissioner Sally North said Woodside notified the safety regulator of the incident.
She said WorkSafe was making enquiries in relation to the incident.
Concerns over pay
Mr Upton also said he understood workers at the plant had been stood down without pay since the incident on Friday night.
"They're not being paid to what they normally should. They've been told that they're to take a [rostered day off on Sunday]," he said.
"It's actually a day of work, and they should be paid for it appropriately.
"It was a safety issue and, as far as I'm concerned, if it's a safety issue, then it should be paid for."
Woodside did not confirm whether workers would be paid for days when the plant was not operational.