THE Maritime Union of Australia has withdrawn its notices of industrial action for its workers at Patrick Terminals today (10 November). The union has agreed to withdraw all industrial action effective this afternoon through 10 December.
The move comes before a hearing at the Fair Work Commission on Patrick’s application to force the union to terminate the action.
MUA assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn said, “The union is happy to see Patrick Terminals has finally returned to the negotiating table and looks forward to arriving at an agreement which both sides can be happy with”.
In a notice to customers, the company said as part of this process, the company and the MUA attended a long conciliation session this morning at the Fair Work Commission in an attempt to resolve the matters before the hearing date.
Patrick said its focus is now on ensuring its terminals return to normal, on-schedule operations as quickly as possible.
“We continue to engage with the MUA on a daily basis in an effort to finalise an enterprise agreement,” the company said.
The termination comes at a time when delays and congestion are spreading, particularly at Melbourne.
DP World’s terminal at Melbourne had seen significant delays and long truck turnaround times due to weather issues, as well as increased container volumes from servicing ships sub-contracted from Patrick, due to industrial action.
A spokesperson for DPWA told DCN it had agreed to accept four additional sub-contracted vessels at the port and that the terminal had recovered as of this afternoon.
The MUA has been contacted for comment.
