WHARFIES at Patrick Terminals have voted to take protection industrial action.
The Maritime Union has told Patrick of protected industrial action at its container terminals for an indefinite period, starting in Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle on 4 September and on 7 September in Melbourne.
The actions include work bans on ships and in the terminals and work stoppages.
The Patrick enterprise bargaining agreement expired on 30 June.
In a statement published online, Patrick Terminals said they had been “negotiating in good faith” with their employees and the Maritime Union.
Details of the various industrial actions is available here.
Container Transport Alliance Australia director Neil Chambers said industrial action had the potential to exacerbate existing issues, notably empty container management and empty evacuations by shipping lines in Port Botany.
“These difficulties may start to manifest themselves in the other ports as well, leading to congestion in empty container parks and poor truck servicing turn times,” Mr Chambers said.
Comment has been sought from the Maritime Union.
This latest action occurs just days after DPWA and the union confirmed agreement on a Part A (national) agreement, as reported in Daily Cargo News.
Feel like a trip down memory lane? Check out this video piece on the famous 1998 waterfront dispute pitting Patrick against the Maritime Union. This is a union production and slanted towards their point of view, but remains compelling viewing regardless of your politics.
