DP World wharfies threaten strike action

About 1800 DP World wharfies are threatening strikes after the decision to cancel a union-backed income protection scheme.

DP World wharfies are threatening strike action. Picture: AAP

About 1800 wharfies at DP World’s operations across the country are threatening to strike over the stevedore’s decision to cancel a union-backed income protection scheme.

Furious maritime union officials attacked the company’s decision as brutal, immoral, crazy and bloody-minded, declaring it would seek a ballot for protected action, including 24-hour strikes.

The threat came as ACTU secretary Sally McManus reaffirmed today that the union movement would press a federal Labor government to legislate to allow unions and workers to take legal strike action in support of multi-employer bargaining claims.

DP World accused the maritime union of threatening “spurious” industrial action, saying the current enterprise agreement — which is about to expire and is yet to be renegotiated — obliged the company to discontinue the ­income protection scheme on February 28.

In the absence of a new agreement, DP World said it would give employees a 2 per cent salary rise from March 1, which workers could use to pay for income protection themselves, a practice that operated before 2015.

DP World also offered to maintain the existing income protection scheme arrangements and give workers a 2.6 per cent pay rise if the union agreed to rollover the existing enterprise agreement and withdraw all its bargaining claims, including a ban on casuals, against the company. The proposal was rejected.

“In the context of an annual ­inflation rate of 1.8 per cent and enormous commercial pressure from some consolidated international shipping lines, we were genuinely surprised it was not considered more seriously by the union,’’ a company spokesman said.

“With an increasingly uncertain commercial outlook for our industry, we hope that the MUA will be mindful of DPWA employees and our customers when threatening spurious industrial action. DPWA leadership remain open to negotiating and hopeful of reaching a new enterprise agreement soon.”

But Warren Smith, the union’s assistant national secretary, said the company’s move had been met with an unprecedented level of anger and outrage from workers employed in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle.

In a statement to members, the union accused DP World of “putting a gun” to the head of workers — “do as you’re told or else”. It said its bargaining claims had been rejected during recent negotiations.

“The incredible bastardry of the company’s income protection decision is made worse by the fact that it actually costs DPW more to cancel our IP than it does to keep it in place,’’ it said.

“It is that crazy and bloody-minded.”

Due to the company’s “abysmally poor behaviour and display of corporate thuggery”, the union said it was left with “absolutely no options but to progress this negotiation to a ballot for protected industrial action.

“A 100 per cent ‘Yes’ ballot ­itself can send a strong message to the company prior to any action being taken.”

The Fair Work Commission is expected to hear the union’s ­application for a protected action ballot on Monday.