Upcoming Protected Industrial Action taken by the Maritime Union of Australia

November 11, 2021

Upcoming Protected Industrial Action taken by the Maritime Union of Australia

On the week commencing November 1st there will be stoppages at Patricks East Swanson Terminal as a result of MUA protected Action.

 

The MUA protected action will occur over the following days.

1 x 4hr stoppage on Monday 1ST November from 0300-0700hrs
1 x 8hr stoppage on Monday 1ST November from 1100-1900hrs

1 x 4hr stoppage on Wednesday 3RD November from 0300-0700hrs 
 1 x 8hr stoppage on Wednesday 3RD November from 1100-1900hrs

1 x 4hr stoppage on Friday 5th November from 0300-0700hrs 
 1 x 8hr stoppage on Friday 5th November from 1100-1900hrs

Patrick Terminals have released the following statement regarding the upcoming protected industrial action.

Patrick Terminals has lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission to terminate its Enterprise Agreement with the MUA.

The agreement is no longer fit for purpose, as it contains a number of operational restrictions that have limited the ability of Patrick to meet customer requirements at a time of congestion in global supply chains.

Patrick has been negotiating with its employees and the MUA since February 2020 to seek to address these restrictions and has held more than 70 meetings in pursuit of a new enterprise agreement.

The MUA has launched more than 220 industrial actions against Patrick Terminals nationally during the negotiation period. This has intensified recently with further action launched at all four of Patrick’s terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle for the coming days and weeks.

 

Michael Jovicic, CEO Patrick Terminals said, “Enough is enough. We have presented the MUA with an attractive national offer on top of their already very generous agreement including a 10% pay increase across four years coupled with protections addressing concerns over the use of casuals and job security.

“Negotiations have been ongoing for close to two years and frankly there seems to be no agreement to be had, particularly in Sydney, where the union is still demanding we hire from a selected list of family and friends.

“We have today lodged an application with the FWC for an order terminating our current agreement.

“We are at the end of the road and need to have an agreement with our employees that works for our customers, and that allows us to remain competitive in the future market.”

Terminating the agreement will allow Patrick to recruit and train employees without needing the agreement of the Union and remove any “friends and family” Union imposed restrictions.
“The world has changed, and we need to be able to recruit and promote the best people for the job rather than be hamstrung by antiquated Union- led processes and policies that restrict our business,” Mr Jovicic said.

“Our market share and business operations have suffered due to this relentless industrial campaign by the MUA and their insidious ‘jobs for the boys’ stance. We need to provide our customers with operational certainty and that includes a workable agreement with our employees. Our customers are demanding that we take action to resolve this situation.”

Patrick Terminals has guaranteed not to change leave entitlements, salaries and other rates of pay that are applicable under the Enterprise Agreement for employees for a period of 6 months from the date of any termination order, probably next year.
Patrick Terminals has requested an expedited hearing of this application with the Fair Work Commission.

 

For more detailed information or advice about specific cargo or destinations, talk to your usual Freightplus contact or send your enquiry to mail@freightplus.com for a quick reply.

To check out the latest freight news visit the Freightplus Newsroom.



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