Stevedores agree wharfies will be paid to attend union rallies

Maritime union members will be paid to attend ACTU rallies in Sydney and Melbourne today.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus. Picture: AAP

Maritime union members will be paid to attend ACTU rallies in Sydney and Melbourne today after stevedores agreed to shut down terminals for several hours to allow the workers to join protests designed to pressure Labor and the Coalition into changing the federal workplace laws.

Maritime union assistant national secretary Warren Smith said the companies had agreed to exercise provisions in enterprise agreements that would allow workers to stop work but be paid to join the anti-Coalition protests.

Mr Smith said it was vital that as many MUA members as possible stopped work to join the rallies to show the Coalition and the ALP the level of community support for changing the Fair Work Act in favour of unions and workers.

A DP World Australia spokeswoman said yesterday that authorised stop-work meetings had been requested and approved for its Melbourne and Sydney terminals from 9.30am to 2pm today.

“DPWA employees may exercise their right to attend the rallies, using one of their sanctioned stop-work meetings,’’ she said.

“We have prepared for this and expect minimal impact on our ­terminal operations. We have advised customers to this effect.”

The agreements between the stevedoring companies and the union mean the wharfies will not be exposed to any legal action when they attend the rallies.

The Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Building and Construction Commission have issued warnings to workers ahead of the mega-rally in Melbourne this morning which the ACTU hopes will be attended by up to 150,000 workers.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the “political protest was aimed at making Scott Morrison and federal politicians listen”. “Our wages are going backwards, families are struggling, too many people are stuck in insecure work,’’ she said. “We need to bring back balance to the system so working people get fair pay rises.”

Jobs and Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer said the rallies were a “small glimpse into what Sally McManus, John Setka and Bill Shorten had in store for Australians”.

“They want to take Australia back to the dark ages of rolling strikes, workplace division and disruption, and every Australian will pay for that,” she said.

“Bill Shorten has demonstrated that he will adopt the position of militant mega unions like the CFMEU, and that he stands with union bosses, not small businesses and the workers they employ.”

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief James Pearson said the ACTU campaign was “really about putting power into the hands of big unions, disempowering employees and removing their choices”.

The Victorian Trades Hall Council has threatened national boycotts of employers that try to stop their employees joining the mega-rallies.