THE MARITIME Union of Australia has notified Qube Ports that participating wharfies in Brisbane are proceeding with industrial action.

The actions, which involve a host of operational restrictions and work stoppages, will begin Friday 27 September and run for 14 days.

Plans for industrial action were announced by the MUA earlier this month, with similar bans and stoppages a possibility for Port Kembla in addition to Brisbane, with bans having already commenced in Melbourne.

The MUA has levied the industrial actions against the port and logistics operator amid wage negotiations; the union says Qube is guilty of “rampant corporate profiteering” by not increasing its wharfies’ pay commensurate to the profit increase which the MUA says the company generated during and since the Covid-19 period.

Further, the MUA accused Qube managers of deliberately stalling and derailing the formal negotiations process, with the last employment agreement having expired in June this year.

A total of 16 restrictions have been announced during the action, including the following

  • An 8-hour stoppage from when the vessel ties up at the berth.
  • Participants will only work 8-hour shifts.
  • Participants will only commence work at 0700, 1500 and 2300.
  • There will be no shift extensions.
  • A ban on performance of shift pre-starts.
  • Participants will not work during meal breaks or other breaks.
  • Once the start time is ordered participants will not accept any variation to that start time.
  • Participants will not accept any call ins outside of allocated shifts.
  • Participants will engage in a ban on the performance of Grade 5, 6 and/or 7 upgrade work
  • Participants will only drive up to 15km/h on the wharf for PCC/RoRo ops.
  • Participants will not transfer between berths and sites once allocated to work.
  • Participants will not use personal phones for work purposes whilst on shift.
  • 24-hour stoppage from 0700 Friday 27 September 2024. (New)
  • 24-hour stoppage from 0700 Saturday 28 September 2024. (New)
  • 24-hour stoppage from 2300 Saturday 5 October 2024. (New)
  • One-hour stoppage each day at 0145, 0945, 1745 commencing 0145 Sunday 29 September 2024.

“The purchasing power of a Qube wharfie has been diminished by 14% due to inflation, with the real value of wages falling year on year as company profits soar,” the MUA’s deputy national secretary, Warrren Smith said in an announcement on 9 September.

The industrial actions received near-unanimous support in the recent protected action ballots, the results of which were published by the Fair Work Commission.

One-hundred-percent of participating Port Kembla wharfies voted in favour of all strike actions, while Brisbane participants backed the action with 99.2% support.

The ballot for Melbourne, the results of which were published in August, saw 105 out of 112 eligible voters give 100% support to the proposed stoppages and bans.