The West Australian freight industry has expressed frustration ahead of upcoming Maritime Union strikes happening at Fremantle Port over Christmas and New Year.
A series of rolling 24-hour blocks of industrial action – starting Friday, December 20 and continuing until January 2 will be felt across the country at Port Kembla, Brisbane, Fremantle and Darwin wharves operated by the $6.85 billion Qube, escalating a months-long dispute.
Credit: Trevor Collens
The company has offered its staff an 18 per cent wage rise over four years but the union, which represents almost all workers on Australian docks, wants changes to rules that let Qube determine workers’ shifts at 4pm the day before they begin.
The industrial action impacts bulk goods, things such as grains, steel and machinery, rather than shipping containers full of toys, electronics or cosmetics destined for Christmas trees, but still has local importers throwing their hands in the air.
“While it’s not going to cause an immediate impact to consumers and what’s on the shop shelf, it’s still going to be a massive impact to businesses,” international supply chain expert Kelly Crossley, owner of Transitainer WA, said.
“The issue that I have is the same old thing that we’ve been seeing for the past 20 years, is these union strikes holding the country at ransom this time of the year, whether it’s a container terminal or the bulk grain handling terminal – that’s an issue that needs to be addressed in itself.”
The union says Qube has avoided serious safety, fatigue and work-life balance concerns brought up by members during more than three months of bargaining.
Maritime Union deputy national secretary Warren Smith accused Qube of “stupid gameplaying and manipulation” and vowed to continue to escalate action until a “common sense” outcome was reached.
In response a Qube spokesman labelled the strike “attention-seeking” that was “entirely on brand” for the union.
“It’s about time the union stopped playing Grinch and meaningfully engages in negotiations to bring these protracted disputes to an end and lock in pay increases for workers for Christmas,” the spokesperson said.
The Maritime Union said polling showed between 97 per cent and 100 per cent of its members supported its industrial campaign.
A notice from the Freight and Trade Alliance and the Australian Peak Shippers Association said given the deadlock, it was possible the dispute could extend well into the second quarter of 2025.
It was already a turbulent year for freight forwarders.
In July, they pleaded with businesses to get their Christmas stock ordered early as delays at docks in China and Singapore threatened supply-chain gridlock.
In one unusual case, a West Australian business owner was left shaking his head when a mishap at the Fremantle dock saw his cargo bypass its intended drop-off and head to Melbourne instead.
It was then transported by train across the Nullarbor before reaching WA – seven weeks after leaving China.
But Crossley said on Friday that an early peak in stock ordering in 2024 had shown suppliers had heeded the call, easing expected supply pressures.
“While there’s still some of those issues happening, getting clients and importers educated, getting consumers educated, has definitely had a positive impact,” she said.
Looking ahead for 2025, Crossley urged business and consumers to stay on top of their early purchasing in the lead up to Chinese New Year as supply and demand challenges were forever changing.
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