INDUSTRY has today (14 January) received notification from Qube Ports of the removal of protected industrial action (PIA) by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

The removal covers all ports from 0700 tomorrow (15 January), following months of PIA resulting from stalled negotiations over a new employment contract.

A spokesperson for Qube said, “The cessation of the CFMEU’s months long industrial relations campaign will be welcome news for the very many industries, customers and communities that have experienced significant disruptions since the middle of last year”.

“We look forward to ports and our workforce around the country now returning to full operation.”

Speaking to DCN, the NSW government’s Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Damien Tudehope said, “Families and businesses throughout NSW are impacted by any disruption to our ports from industrial actions by the MUA”.

Mr Tudehope said that even if the current dispute is settled, Australians are tired of paying the price for the government’s “refusal to stand up to the unions” and that further disruptive action from the MUA is likely.

CEO of Shipping Australia, Captain Melwyn Noronha commented, “We are pleased to see that the PIA will be withdrawn. Resumption of the movement of cargo can only be to the benefit of everyday Australian families if they can now get their essential goods delivered”.

“We hope that the parties can now move forward to an equitable and amicable deal to allow vital supply chain business to resume as normal.”

The news of removal of PIA comes just days after the MUA claimed on 10 January that Qube Ports had “chosen” PIA over a resolution, reaffirming its claim that the port operator was attempting to trigger intractable bargaining provisions.

At that time the union said it remained open to achieving full and final settlement, but that it was only possible if the Qube “comes to the bargaining table in good faith and leaves its ideological posturing at the door”.

Reacting to today’s PIA removal development, Shipping Australia (SAL) has called for enterprise bargaining at waterfront-related companies to take place on a staggered schedule, varied both by company and staggered by geographical location, so that no-one industrial action can disrupt trade Australia-wide at any one time.

SAL also called for shorter, fixed, bargaining periods with an automatic referral to the Fair Work Commission for determination and settlement of disputes if the parties cannot reach an agreement.

The industry association said the notice period gfiven before strike action (currently three days), should be extended to at least 21 days, which it says would cover 14 days of sailing time to or from South East Asia, with six days for cargo staging time, and a further one day of buffer-time.

“Unfortunately, there are other industrial actions underway in other parts of the Australian maritime sector, and looking forward, there are more to come,” Captain Noronha said.

“It is clear that the waterfront union has an ongoing programme of industrial actions planned and that Australia is subject to an ongoing, rolling, permanent and paralysing campaign of industrial action.

“Reform in this area is long overdue so that no single group, body, or entity has the power to hold the entire nation to ransom. Clearly, there needs to be a fundamental root-and-branch reform of industrial relations law & policy if Australia is to remain competitive on the world stage.”

Neither Qube nor the MUA have yet commented on the current state of negotiations towards a new employment contract following the notice of removal of PIA.