Waterfront dispute points back to the future on IR

Hard-won reform of the nation’s waterfront under the Howard government in 1998 was a signature achievement that helped to underwrite the decades of economic prosperity that followed. It built on another bitterly fought campaign to break the stranglehold the trade union movement had on major mining operations in the mid-1980s. Before the reforms, waterfront and mining operations were beset with demarcation disputes, featherbedding and protection rorts that put a chokehold in workplace flexibility.

The ongoing dispute involving DP World’s port operations is a reminder that the industrial gains of the past are not guaranteed to endure. When taken together with the Albanese government’s changes to allow sector-wide bargaining, there is an uncomfortable feeling that things are going back to the future. Changes in these major sectors reflect what is happening throughout the workplace with Labor’s assault on employers focused on the gig economy, which has operated with maximum flexibility and minimal union oversight. Changes already passed by the Senate will make it harder for small businesses to operate as well.

The DP World dispute is part of ongoing wage negotiations at the nation’s second-biggest port operator. It has been going on since October and is being conducted as protected industrial action within the rules set out by the Fair Work Commission. This is no excuse for the Albanese government not to get involved. The Prime Minister’s office said on Monday it would “continue to closely monitor the impact of the dispute” and urged a negotiated outcome. This is not good enough.

Anthony Albanese has gone out of his way to portray himself as a consensus-driven Prime Minister in the style of Bob Hawke. Hawke remained fixed on the needs of the ordinary person and would involve himself directly in disputes that risked national prosperity, whether it be in airlines or on the waterfront.

Having declared cost of living to be his sole political focus, Mr Albanese must understand that well-functioning ports are an essential economic ingredient for an island nation dependent on trade. A clogged and inefficient waterfront means supply-chain disruptions, higher prices and more pressure on inflation. The way the DP World dispute is tracking points to months of further disruptions. The company says its ability to operate has been severely affected, with more than 50,000 containers in backlog and hundreds of ships waiting offshore. It would take months to clear the backlog, even if restrictions were lifted immediately.

Finally, after three months of inaction, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke agreed on Monday to meet with the company on Thursday. Solving the dispute should always have been at the top of the government’s must-do agenda. Instead, it again left the running to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who by going public to explain the economic impact of the dispute has shamed the government into action. By refusing for so long to get involved the government has exposed how unworkable the current industrial laws are when disputes can drag out for months with protected strike action without resort to arbitration.

Mr Albanese must find a solution. To not do so will only worsen the perception that the federal government is intent on winding back the clock on industrial relations to a time when industry-wide strikes against vital areas of the economy were used to choke productivity and enable trade union leaders to dictate the terms.