Addressing an international transport unions conference in the East Timor capital Dili, president Gusmao called for the urgent establishment of a labour code to cover the industry.

“Timorese participation and employment in all levels and phases of activities in this area must be encouraged and supported,” he said.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said it was campaigning with Timorese unions to persuade US giant, ConocoPhillips, to employ workers in its oil and gas operations, including seafarers on LNG tankers.

ConocoPhillips pipes LNG from its Bayu-Undan field in the Timor Sea to Darwin for liquefaction and shipment.

MUA assistant national secretary, Mick Doleman, criticised ConocoPhilips for using “flag of convenience” vessels to avoid “decent labour standards" and excluding Timorese and Australian seafarers from the LNG trade.

“Half the East Timor workforce is unemployed or underemployed, but ConocoPhilips won’t give Timorese job opportunities in the only industry that can provide for them,” he said at the Dili conference.

The conference yesterday resolved to work towards establishing task forces that cover the Timor Sea oil and gas industry, and including governments, employers and unions.

This follows a royalty agreement signed last week between the Australian and East Timor governments, which ended long-running negotiations over rights to the Timor Sea's Greater Sunrise oil field.