Tony Burke steps in on ‘dangerous’ ports standoff

Federal action opens the way for an end to the three-year dispute.

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke addresses the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has intervened in the damaging ports standoff, urging the Fair Work Commission to order Svitzer to drop its threatened lockout of workers, clearing the way for arbitration of the three-year-old dispute.

Accusing Svitzer of playing a game of blackmail with the Australian economy, Mr Burke said the tug boat operator’s proposed lockout of workers from Friday was dangerous, irresponsible and economic vandalism.

The commission, at its own initiative, is considering suspending or terminating the threatened lockout, which Svitzer said was in response to industrial action by maritime unions.

At a hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for the commonwealth argued for the action by Svitzer to be terminated.

“The commonwealth will be providing economic evidence to the commission to demonstrate the significant harm to the nat­ional economy that would result if the company’s industrial action went ahead,” Mr Burke said.

University of Adelaide law professor Andrew Stewart said granting the government’s application would clear the way for outstanding matters between Svitzer and the three maritime unions to be arbitrated by the commission.

Lawyers for Svitzer refused to withdraw the lockout notice during the hearing. The company declined to participate in further conciliation ahead of another hearing on Thursday.

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin accused Svitzer’s bosses of being on strike, and called for an inquiry into how supply chains had been allowed to become ­“vulnerable to employer-led ­militancy”.

“We have seen Svitzer’s international bosses stuff a ransom note in the mail flap of the Australian community on the cusp of Christmas, to shake down the entire nation under threat of economic and social chaos for no greater purpose than their own profiteering,” Mr Crumlin said.

He said the three unions representing workers at Svitzer Towage – the MUA, the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers and the Australian Maritime Officers Union – offered to withdraw further industrial action until after Christmas to allow good faith bargaining to resume.

The company refused. “This amounts to a war on workers, a war on consumers, on households and businesses throughout the supply chain. Svitzer bosses’ dogged refusal to withdraw this lockout will destroy Christmas 2022 and bring our economy’s post-Covid recovery to a grinding halt,” Mr Crumlin said.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said Svitzer was “threatening the entire economy just to get their own way. It is a disgraceful abuse of power.

“Unions have offered a way forward involving stopping all industrial action, but the company is abusing their monopoly power and our broken laws by threatening damage to our country’s economy,” she said.

“This is exactly what Qantas did when they grounded their fleet after their pilots wore red ties to work. Employers like Qantas and Svitzer game the system because they can.”

In a notice to customers, Svitzer said most parties had acknowledged in the commission hearing that the lockout would cause significant economic harm.

It said the unions were continuing to engage in extensive and ongoing industrial action”, including work stoppages of four to 24 hours at different ports. “We regret the severe disruption that this protected industrial action and the current uncertainty ahead of the lockout,” it said.