News / Shipping Australia lobby group calls for reform of industrial relations

© Mykhailo Polenok

As industrial action by an Australian dockworkers’ union against terminal operator Qube is set to end, lobby group Shipping Australia (SAL) has called for reform so that “no single group, body, or entity has the power to hold the entire nation to ransom”. 

The union campaign against Qube has been ongoing for months, with impacted ports including Brisbane, Kembla, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and Fremantle.   

The union said on Sunday that negotiations with Qube were progressing, but stoppages had been scheduled for Darwin and Melbourne ports this week. 

Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash accused the Albanese Labour government of failing to stand up to its “union mates”, and urged the workplace relations minister to intervene, reported The West Australian. 

And a local source told The Loadstar: “It’s quite significant that Ms Cash made a public intervention yesterday, as there is a state-level election in early March and a federal-level election due before the end of May.” 

It is now understood that the ‘protected’ industrial action will be withdrawn from all ports at 7am tomorrow. 

Under Australian law, once industrial action, such as a go-slow or work stoppage, is authorised by the Fair Work Commission, the union and employees are protected from legal action.  

Therefore, if cargo gets damaged because of protected industrial action, the shipper, insurer or anyone else can’t sue the union for the cost of the damage. If the order is not made by the commission, anyone can sue workers and the union for losses. 

Captain Melwyn Noronha, CEO of SAL, said: “We are pleased to see that the protected industrial action will be withdrawn.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.” 

However, he warned that “there are other industrial actions under way in other parts of the Australian maritime sector, and… there are more to come”. He called for a reform of industrial relations law and policy. “if Australia is to remain competitive on the world stage”. 

Capt Noronha added: “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.”

The lobby group suggests collective bargaining at waterfront-related companies should “take place on a staggered scheduled – varied both by company and, for large company, staggered by geographical location – so that no-one industrial action can disrupt all of Australia’s trade at once”.  

It also wants an extension to the strike notice period, to “at least 21 days” from its current three, “to cover 14 days of sailing time to or from South-east Asia, a further six days for cargo staging and a further one day of buffer time”. 

SAL explained: “This extended notice would enable carriers, shippers and Australian importers and exporters to work around disruptions.”

According to the lobby group, there should also be fixed, shorter bargaining periods, with an automatic referral to the Fair Work Commission for settlement of disputes if the parties cannot reach an agreement. 

“All of these measures would, if enacted, preserve the rights of employees to take action and to bring pressure against their intended target – their direct waterfront employers, which would suffer loss of revenue, customer dissatisfaction and business interruption – without unduly interrupting the flow of essential goods to everyday Australian families, vulnerable Australian citizens and to Australian businesses,” SAL concluded.