Comment / Svitzer, unions and Australian government in a three-way tug of war

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What to make of the escalating rhetoric between Svitzer, the unions – and now the Australian federal government? And is this just a skirmish in a much bigger battle brewing between the Australian government, unions, and industry?

Up ship’s creek

As The Loadstar recently reported, Maersk-owned Svitzer, which operates tugboats in every Australian port, threatened to lock out workers from 18 November in an escalation of its long running Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) negotiations with Australia’s three maritime unions, the Maritime Union ...