‘Crippling’ MUA strikes to hit Christmas deliveries

Wharfies at Patrick terminals have threatened rolling 12 hour strikes in Melbourne and a 24-hour strike in Sydney on Melbourne Cup day.

Sydney’s Port Botany will be affected by the threatened waterfront strike. Picture: Monique Harmer

Hundreds of wharfies at Patrick terminals have threatened a new round of rolling 12-hour strikes in Melbourne and a 24-hour strike in Sydney on Melbourne Cup day, causing further delivery delays in the lead-up to Christmas.

Patrick Terminals chief executive Michael Jovicic said the ­“aggressive” round of “crippling” strikes announced by the Maritime Union of Australia would result in significant delays at the Port of Melbourne, which is ­recovering from the impact of a recent Covid outbreak.

The MUA had agreed to suspend industrial action in the wake of the outbreak, which forced 44 per cent of Patrick’s Melbourne employees to serve some form of isolation in the past four weeks, but the union has now noti­fied its intention to embark on rolling 12-hour strikes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Melbourne for the first two weeks of November as well as other work bans.

A 24-hour strike is planned for the Brisbane terminal on October 31 and on Monday the union notified its intention to strike for 24 hours at the Port of Botany on Melbourne Cup day.

The company has proposed annual 2.5 per cent pay rises for four years, no forced redundancies, caps on the use of casual workers and a commitment to preserving jobs with a focus on permanent roles.

Mr Jovicic said the company had urged the union to bargain without “economic­ally damaging” industrial action.

“Now issuing 19 new industrial notifications of rolling 12-hour strike actions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the coming fortnight at our already struggling Melbourne terminal is frankly bewildering,” he said.

“Our terminal is still working to recover from reduced labour availability due to the recent Covid-19 cases and this industrial action will result in significant delays. Every Australian will feel the impact on the retail shelves across the next two months due to this selfish behaviour of the MUA.”

Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash said the escalation of industrial action could not come at a worse time, given communities were coming out of lockdowns and businesses were reopening their doors.

“This action will be felt in Australia’s two most-populous cities as they emerge from prolonged lockdowns, only to be hit by more disruption and economic harm,” she said.

Senator Cash strongly encouraged parties to return to the negotiating table and bargain in good faith without the threat of industrial action.

MUA assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn said Patrick had not reached out to negotiate with the union “other than to say their offer is on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis”.

“Protected industrial action continues in the hope that it will encourage Patrick back to the negotiating table,” he said.

“There are important elements that Patrick employees want resolved that revolve around job security in an increasingly automated world.

“Patrick are more interested in vilifying their workers than negotiating, leading to a poor workplace culture.”

Current delays at Patrick’s terminal range from four days in Melbourne to five days in Brisbane and 8½ days at Fremantle. Delays at the Sydney terminal are on average one day.

According to Patrick, on average full-time employees at Port Botany, Melbourne’s East Swanson Dock, Brisbane and Fremantle on a 35-hour roster earn between $151,048 and $172,124 a year, including bonuses and overtime. The average days worked for this pay range from 162 to 198.