THE FAIR Work Commission is holding a meeting today at 1300 to decide wether or not to terminate or suspend industrial action by the three maritime unions and towage operator Svitzer. The industrial action under consideration includes the company’s indefinite lockout of its maritime employees to start on Friday at 1200 AEDT. The Full Bench hearing is to resume on Friday morning if required.

The lockout would cripple Australian shipping, preventing ships from entering or leaving most of the 17 ports the company operates in.

On Tuesday Fair Work Commission vice-president Adam Hatcher said in a statement the commission can step in to end such actions if they “cause significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it”, according to the Fair Work Act.

The act also gives the commission the power to act in such circumstances on its own initiative.

After a meeting with the Fair Work Commission, Svitzer issued an update to customers saying the commission indicated it intended to make a decision for the matter to be concluded before the commencement of the lockout.

“In the meantime, it is important to note that all protected industrial action (including the lockout) remains in place. This includes extensive and ongoing industrial action already notified by the unions,” the company said.

Svitzer declined to comment further on the matter.

The protected industrial action notified by the unions for the next few days includes 24-hour work stoppages in Newcastle and Kwinana; 12-hour work stoppages in Albany, Fremantle and Geraldton; four-hour work stoppages in Adelaide and Port Pirie; and a 24-hour ban on servicing Maersk ships in Sydney.

Ports to begin evacuating

Affected ports around the country are preparing to evacuate vessels ahead of the potential lockout.

Fremantle Ports has ordered the port to be evacuated to prevent vessels being held alongside for an unforeseen period of time and as a safety and emergency management consideration.

The port authority has ordered all Outer Harbour berths to be cleared at the latest by 0800 Thursday (17 November). This is ahead of work stoppages notified by the unions. The port authority has also ordered Inner Harbour berths to be cleared starting at 1900 Thursday, ahead of the lockout.

A spokesperson from the Port of Melbourne said the port is continuing to monitor the situation and “urges all parties to work together to ensure continuity of supply and safety of operations”.

“The Port of Melbourne will also continue to work with Ports Victoria, the state government authority that manages the safe transit of vessels into and out of Victoria’s commercial ports,” the spokesperson said.

“The port understands that Ports Victoria is undertaking contingency planning and, if required, will be directly advising stakeholders of proposed actions and impacts on their operations in due course.”

“Economic vandalism”

Minister for employment and workplace relations Tony Burke today said the federal government believes the worker lockout proposed by tugboat company Svitzer should not go ahead.

“That is why we have intervened in the Fair Work Commission’s case to argue this action should be terminated,” he said.

“The Commonwealth will be providing economic evidence to the commission to demonstrate the significant harm to the national economy that would result if the company’s industrial action went ahead.”

After a speech at the National Press Club yesterday, Mr Buke said what Svitzer is attempting to do is “economic vandalism”.

“They have decided to act now in a way that puts a whole lot of the Australian economy at risk, not simply their own workplace,” Mr Burke said.

“The full impact of this I want to make sure is made clear to the commission – I support the commission bringing this in, and I don’t want to do anything that interferers with the independence of the commission, but it is the proper role of the Australian government to make clear how irresponsible and dangerous this lockout is.”

“Corporate piracy”

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin called for an inquiry into “how a multinational Danish-owned company can be allowed to hold an entire country to ransom through this campaign of employer-led industrial militancy must be held so we never again find ourselves vulnerable to this corporate piracy”.

“We have seen Svitzer’s international bosses stuff a ransom note in the mail flap of the Australian community on the cusp of Christmas, to shake down the entire nation under threat of economic and social chaos for no greater purpose than their own profiteering,” Mr Crumlin said.

All three unions representing maritime workers employed at Svitzer – the MUA, the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers and the Australian Maritime Officers Union – have offered to withdraw any further industrial action until beyond Christmas so good-faith bargaining could resume; however, the MUA said the company refused to agree to this proposal and is persisting with its planned lockout on Friday.

“This amounts to a war on workers, a war on consumers, on households and businesses throughout the supply chain. Svitzer bosses’ dogged refusal to withdraw this lockout will destroy Christmas 2022 and bring our economy’s post-Covid recovery to a grinding halt,” Mr Crumlin said.

A statement from the Australian Maritime Officers union, dated 15 November, said its members were “distressed” that they would be locked out of their workplace and barred from boarding their tugs, preventing them from providing any emergency response to maritime incidents”.

The AMOU statement said in any industrial action taken by its members emergency situations are exempt.

“Our current industrial laws set up mechanisms to start industrial negotiations but don’t set out how failed negotiations end,” the AMOU said.

“Laws that help workers and their employers reach quick resolution are long overdue. The AMOU is ready to meet with Svitzer at any time to fix this mess.”

The company said there has been “exhaustive” bargaining in 75 meetings, including two conciliation sessions with the Fair Work Commission and one independent mediation process with a former deputy president of the commission, recommended by the unions.

Svitzer has received more than 250 instances of protected industrial action since 20 October 2022, amounting to nearly 2000 hours of work stoppages, according to the company.

Grain export disruptions

Industry body GrainGrowers has welcomed the FWC’s possible intervention in the dispute, saying the lockout would disrupt Australia’s $22.8-billion grain exports ahead of the Christmas period.

GrainGrowers said the dispute came at the start of the crucial harvest period with exporters already struggling to move grain and keep up with international demand.

GrainGrowers general manager policy and advocacy Zach Whale said that protracted industrial action is having an increasingly detrimental impact on port productivity.

“As an export-orientated industry, well-functioning ports are critical to supporting Australia’s grain industry. We rely heavily on the nation’s ports and shipping networks to transport grain to overseas markets, and we need all aspects to operate efficiently,” Mr Whale said.

“It is critical industrial relations arrangements are managed to ensure goods can be imported and exported through the most appropriate port, avoiding delays and increased costs.”

He said unless action was taken, efficient export-focused industries such as grains would suffer long-term damage, impacting Australia’s reputation as a trusted trading partner.

“This year, growers have been already hammered by wet weather, severely damaged roads and transport infrastructure. To have a shipping dispute on top of this, potentially stopping harvest exports is an unnecessary burden on Australian trade.”