Stevedore DP World is intensifying its conflict with the Maritime Union of Australia, which is impeding four of the busiest ports in the nation, by threatening to dock a full shift’s salary from any wharfies who slow down cargo with work prohibitions.
Industry associations view the action as a lead-up to full-scale strikes and lockouts, which could escalate the months-long conflict that affects around 40% of Australian imports and exports.
As it negotiates a new pay agreement with the foreign-owned stevedore, the militant Maritime Union has directed its members to participate in periods of legitimate industrial action, ranging from refusing overtime to not unloading cargo, starting on October 1.
Employees have been paid throughout the union’s industrial action campaign, even if they haven’t completed all of their assigned tasks. However, that will alter on Friday. According to a business spokesman, it was a “last resort.”
“At DP World’s Australian terminals, employees who opt for partial work bans will not be compensated until they resume their regular responsibilities,” he stated.
The federal minister of workplace relations, Tony Burke, has declined to intervene. The government asked all parties to work with the national industrial umpire to find a solution, according to a spokesman for the minister, who is on leave, said on Monday.
DP World operates terminals in Brisbane, Port Botany in Sydney, Melbourne, and Fremantle, among other places.
The corporation claims that spoilage, storage expenses, and late fines have already cost Australian businesses $10 million as a result of the union’s strike action. It did, however, note that the industrial action’s weekly economic impact of $84.2 million was far larger. Shipping delays have gotten worse due to rising tensions in the Red Sea..
According to Paul Zalai, CEO of the trade association Freight and Trade Alliance, it seems that DP World has determined that the union’s industrial action campaign was unacceptable.
“If you read between the lines, it might come to the point where DP World takes advantage of their right to industrial action, which would be to lock out the employees,” he said. “Hopefully, that is not the case.”
Since the 1990s waterfront dispute, when the Howard government worked with Patrick Corporation to try and destroy the MUA and reform Australia’s ports, there hasn’t been a significant lockout in the country’s maritime sector.