MUA warfies stand firm in protest over Hutchison text sackings

The dispute between the maritime union and Hutchison Ports has deepened after conciliation talks ended abruptly.

Sydney Ports workers from Hutchison Ports blockade the entrance to the Sydney terminal. Picture: AAP

The waterfront dispute between the maritime union and Hutch­ison Ports has deepened after an initial round of conciliation talks in the Fair Work Commission ended abruptly yesterday.

The strikes that have stopped operations at container terminals in Sydney and Brisbane are set to enter their sixth day today, ­despite the industrial umpire ­ordering workers and the union to end industrial action.

Hutchison Ports Australia has diverted boats bound for its wharves to Patrick Stevedoring for unloading, while the union has bussed in reinforcements, including retired members, for its protest.

Picket lines formed at ports on Friday morning after 97 of Hutchison’s 224 Australian workers were sacked without warning by a series of text messages and emails late on Thursday.

Commission deputy president Anna Booth extended orders that the industrial action end on Monday night. She subsequently began conciliation talks between the parties, which failed to achieve a result. The matter was adjourned until Friday.

Hong-Kong based Hutchison chief financial officer Chee Keong Chan has said it is the company’s “expectation” that the union will comply with the Fair Work Commission order.

However, as of last night it had not sought to enforce the order — police at the docks were tasked solely with keeping the peace in the absence of Federal Court or Fair Work Ombudsman orders that could compel the protesters to move on.

Hutchison would not say whether it would seek to enforce the commission’s order.

The MUA has previously continued protests in the face of commission orders.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions yesterday accused the government of “turning back the clock on industrial relations” after Employment Minister Eric Abetz backed Hutchison’s use of text message and email to sack workers. “It’s clear that Senator Abetz wants to recreate the Peter Reith era of industrial relations and Australians know that means job losses and rights stripped away,” it said.

Separately, the federal court yesterday ordered the MUA to pay $120,000 compensation to workers for emotional distress after the MUA named them in “scab posters” during a strike.