AMOU and AIMPE protected industrial action against Smit Lamnalco went ahead as planned in Gladstone this morning but the unions say it appears no shipping movements have been disrupted.
SL last week was issued with formal notice of the PIA, endorsed by the unions as they seek a new towage enterprise agreement for tugmasters and engineers to replace a deal that expired on 31 December.
The action may include ▪ A ban on work that would have a Master or Engineer work more than 12 continuous hours. ▪ A ban on work that would have a Master or Engineer work more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period. ▪ A ban on working during rostered leave for recalls and relief, except for emergencies directed by the Regional Harbour Master or Australian Maritime Safety Authority. ▪ A ban on entering fuel tank soundings data into FLGO. ▪ A ban on the performance of “hot handovers”. ▪ A ban on the performance of training and/or familiarisation of crew on SL tugs, and is slated to continue until 2359 hours on 25 January if there’s no resolution.
SL filed a bargaining dispute with the Fair Work Commission last Wednesday [ January] but SL MD Australia & PNG David Fethers today expressed frustration that the company has not yet received a response from the Commission, let alone a time/date for a hearing.
“We are working with MSQ and GPC in order to minimise any disruption to the shipping schedule,” Mr Fethers said.
AMOU acting executive officer Tracey Ellis said the unions couldn’t see facilitated bargaining helping “if SL doesn’t come to the table with a better offer.
“Smit Lamnalco is aggravating the situation by misrepresenting that their employees are greedy and underworked. They say that the crews have minimal contact hours, yet they still want to schedule them to work for up to 17 hours per day. It doesn’t make sense,” Ms Ellis told DCN.
