DP World ports dispute needs the Fair Work Commission to step in, says Victorian opposition

As conjecture grows about the commitment of DP World and the MUA to resolve industrial action at ports across the country, the Victorian opposition wants the Fair Work Commission to step in.

Tensions boil over in 1998 during a dispute between waterside workers Patrick Corporation stevedores.

The Victorian opposition has demanded the Fair Work Commission intervene through forced arbitration to end the port dispute between the nation’s second-biggest stevedore, DP World, and the Maritime Union of Australia.

So far the dispute, which began in October last year, has cost Australia more than $84m per week due to delays loading and unloading containers from ships, according to DP World.

The ports were the centrepiece of a dispute over industrial relations and the trade union movement a quarter of a century ago. But unlike the Patrick Stevedores dispute with the MUA of 1998, which was backed by the Howard government, this time a Labor government is in charge and the battle could emerge as a test of its support for big business.

Opposition ports and freight spokesman Roma Britnell said the Victorian Premier needed to use section 424 of the Fair Work Act to get the FWC to intervene in the ports dispute, as the former Baillieu Coalition government did in 2011 when it “successfully referred an industrial action impacting Qantas to the commission for termination.”

“This has the potential to blow up,” Ms Britnell said. “There has never been a more important time to make sure this industrial action is stopped, because what we’ve got is an economic challenge … there are gaps in the supply chain that are affecting the economy.”

Ms Britnell highlighted the blowout in the Victorian state debt to a forecast $200bn, and said the state Labor government needed to show it can “empathise with the difficulties currently faced by Victorian families”.

The national dispute centres on pay and rostering at ports in Melbourne, where DP World has 34 per cent market share, Sydney, where it has 40 per cent, Fremantle, where it has 40 per cent and Brisbane, where it controls half the market.

Some importers say they are experiencing delays but supermarket giant Woolworths said DP World was only responsible for a portion of its stock and that there was a time buffer between the arrival of stock on shore and its distribution to stores, reducing the impact of disruptions.

“While we’re not seeing a significant impact on our supply into stores, we’re monitoring the situation closely,” a Woolworths spokesman said.

The MUA and DP World are in negotiations from Tuesday to Thursday.

DP World said it would start to dock pay from this Friday if an agreement was not reached. The Dubai-based operator has called for the Albanese government to force arbitration through the FWC.

The MUA is seeking a two-year pay deal with a 16 per cent pay rise. It said Patrick stevedores had a 17 per cent higher rate than DP World’s.

DP World Oceania executive vice-president Nicolaj Noes dismissed claims his port workers should be paid the same rate, telling The Australian earlier this week that Patrick had greater productivity because it was fully automated in Brisbane and Sydney, whereas DP World was only semi-automated at one port, ­Brisbane.

A DP World facility at the Port of Brisbane. Picture: AAP

Mr Noes said the idea of paying all workers in the same industry the same rate had been tried in the Soviet Union and North Korea and “it doesn’t work out that well”.

However, MUA national assistant secretary Adrian Evans said DP World shouldn’t be gaming the system by paying less than rivals.

“Dubai Ports should not be given a competitive advantage by having a discount workforce. Workers deserve the same pay for doing the same work of other terminal operators,” Mr Evans said earlier in the week.

Labor’s same-job, same-pay/wage theft legislation passed parliament late December, despite fierce opposition from employers.

A spokesman for Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, said DP World and the MUA needed to work together on a solution but did not say the government would force arbitration.

“The government urges all parties to engage with the Fair Work Commission and find a solution in the best interests of everybody involved,” he said.

The FWC does not generally step in until after the ninth month of industrial action. Ports Australia has backed a call for the government to get the FWC to step in early because “it is clear this matter will not be resolved in a timely manner”, CEO Mike Gallacher said.

“This dispute is escalating at a time when there is ongoing fragility in the economy. Businesses and farmers are doing their best to keep their doors open in the face of import and export delays,” said Mr Gallacher.

DP World has said the ongoing industrial action has stalled about 44,000 containers, and the backlog could take eight weeks to clear.

In response to the continued industrial action, shipping lines are prioritising loaded containers.