DELIVERY of critical mining equipment, steel, cars and agricultural products will be delayed after the maritime union deepened its industrial dispute with Patrick stevedores and embarked on a series of waterfront rolling strikes.
Union members were scheduled to walk out for 24 hours at Patrick's Port Kembla bulk and general operations, which include BlueScope Steel, from midnight last night.
Strikes are planned at Brisbane and Melbourne's Webb Dock from tomorrow, and the company's Fremantle container terminal will be hit by a 24-hour stoppage from 7am tomorrow.
Strike action at Geelong is also expected, with a further 48-hour stoppage planned for next week at Port Kembla, south of Sydney.
In a move that could provoke further strike action, Patrick is considering trying to impose operational changes on employees at its troubled Port Botany terminal in Sydney, where it says productivity has slumped.
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Maritime Union of Australia officials last night hit back at the company, claiming Patrick was ignoring a series of concessions made by the union during the latest round of negotiations.
Ian Bray, an assistant national secretary with the union, said the concessions would substantially reduce the cost of the union's claim, but the company had not moved.
"It's almost akin to negotiating with corpses," he said.
The deepening of the dispute came as an estimated 8500 Qantas domestic and international passengers' faced disruption of their travel plans by an industrial action of baggage handlers and engineers.
The airline has been forced to delay 39 flights by up to an hour and cancel two flights on the eve of the AFL and NRL grand finals.
Customs staff at Sydney airport will also hold a series of one-hour stoppages tomorrow.
Patrick, a division of Asciano, said the strike action at its operations would disrupt importers and exporters and delay the movement of mining equipment, steel, automotive and agricultural products.
Patrick accused the union of continuing to pursue a wage claim that would cost its business an extra $92 million over the life of a proposed four-year agreement.
The company says agreeing to the claim "would result in significant employee salary increases without any productivity or efficiency measures to offset these increases".
"These levels of increase are unaffordable by any business in today's economic climate," it says.
In separate negotiations concerning the company's terminal operations, Patrick says the "union has become focused on reintroducing control and arbitration clauses that would see conditions of status quo and co-management re-established".
Productivity at the company's Port Botany container terminal in Sydney has become so poor that some shipping lines have transported freight by rail between Sydney and Melbourne to prevent further delays.
Patrick has offered annual 4.75 per cent wage rises to terminal employees offset by a 12 per cent improvement in productivity. Workers receive an extra annual 1 per cent payment contingent on safety and productivity benchmarks being reached. "The company believes the union is acting unreasonably in its pursuit of claims that are fundamentally out of step with other industries and unsustainable amid current economic and employment conditions," Patrick says.
"While many Australians are in a position of economic uncertainty and are experiencing a fall in job security levels, the Patrick offer provides competitive terms and conditions for employees and a fair and sustainable outcome for staff, business and customers."
But Mr Bray said workers were infuriated by the company's stand and had "had a gutful after more than a year of futile negotiations". He said the union had dropped its claim for pay parity across the different ports.
"Across the table, Patrick negotiators agree their costings are questionable and they fail to address key issues of safety, training and casualisation," he said. "After some positive discussions, the last offer put by the company went backwards and didn't reflect the position the MUA thought had been reached."
Given negotiations had run for 18 months, bulk and general cargo employees are seeking a backdated pay rise or sign-on bonus equivalent to a 5 per cent pay rise. They want a further three annual 5 per cent rises.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wharfie strikes at Patrick stevedores #Ausunions
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