A bitter office dispute between the Maritime Union and the nation’s second largest container terminal operator DP World has come to an finish, after the events agreed to an “in-principle agreement” on a brand new enterprise deal.
The truce follows a collection of rolling strikes and work bans organised by the union over the previous 4 months, because it opposed new rostering preparations and sought to extend pay in-line with stevedores employed at rival stevedoring firm Patrick Terminals.
As a results of the protected industrial motion, a backlog of some 50,000 containers has piled up at DP World services in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle, sparking a rise within the operator’s fees.
The recent office settlement, which is topic to endorsement by MUA membership at DP World, replaces a pre-existing deal between the union and the corporate which expired in September.
In response to the in-principle deal, which included provisions on security, compensation, and job safety ensures, the MUA has agreed to withdraw all industrial motion, and stevedores will return to work.
Welcoming the deal, the union’s assistant secretary Adrian Evans stated he was happy the negotiation course of had concluded.
“The past fortnight has shown how quickly a fair and sustainable deal can be resolved once both the workforce and the employer are fully engaged in the negotiation process,” Mr Evans claimed.
“Wharfies perform hard, physical work on 24-hour, seven day working week, in all conditions and all seasons. They are amongst the hardest working, most productive and most flexible workforces in the Australian economic landscape.”
Nicolaj Noes, govt vp at DP World Oceania, additionally expressed his satisfaction with the end result.
“This agreement is a testament to our commitment to our workforce and to providing uninterrupted services to our customers,” Mr Noes stated.
“We are now focused on moving forward, restoring the supply chain operations, and working collaboratively with our employees to rebuild confidence among our customers and make a positive impact on the national economy.”
The settlement follows a shocking rebuke of DP World by Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke who in early January accused the corporate of partaking in a media marketing campaign in opposition to the MUA somewhat than reaching a brand new enterprise settlement.
At the time, Mr Burke additionally emphatically rejected a bid by DP World to have him intervene within the dispute and request the office umpire order obligatory arbitration between the events.
Workplace Minister Tony Burke was contacted for remark.
Originally printed as Long-running office dispute involves an finish as DP World and Maritime Union attain ‘in-principle agreement’
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
