Dockworkers belonging to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) called off their industrial action against DP World Australia after the two parties agreed to return to the negotiating table to thrash out a new agreement on pay and working conditions.
"The Maritime Union of Australia and DP World have reached a ceasefire deal following a full day of discussions in the Fair Work Commission on Wednesday," a union spokesperson told JOC.com.
Approximately 12,000 dockworkers working at DP World's terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Fremantle started a rolling series of walkouts Feb. 22 after DP World said it would strip dockworkers of income protection insurance while also rejecting the MUA's demand for a 5 percent pay increase.
While dockworkers at the Melbourne, Brisbane, and Fremantle terminals agreed on March 31 to suspend strike action pending the resumption of talks, workers at the Sydney terminal vowed to carry on with the strikes.
A 24-hour stoppage was planned at the Sydney terminal April 4 with further 24-hour strikes scheduled for April 10 and May 1. This prompted DP World Australia to request a meeting with the Fair Work Commission on April 3, which included representatives from the MUA and its parent body, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU).
During these talks, DP World "agreed to lock in income protection for three months. The MUA has withdrawn industrial action," the union spokesperson said.
"The discussion focused on breaking the current impasse and getting the enterprise agreement negotiations back on track. Negotiations will now continue over the next 12 weeks, and meetings are being scheduled," the spokesperson told JOC.com.
The moves were confirmed by DP World Australia in a customer advisory notice signed by its chief operating officer, Andrew Adam, and received by carriers and shipper groups.
"DP World Australia is pleased to advise that the CFMMEU has ceased industrial action to allow for the resumption of bargaining for an enterprise agreement," Adam said in the note.
He added, "[DP World Australia] leadership welcomes the agreement to cease industrial action. We believe it offers the opportunity to resume productive discussions, and we have scheduled a number of meetings in the coming months."
When the strike action started two weeks ago, Australian shipper groups, including the Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA), told JOC.com they were worried industrial action could spread to other terminals if the dispute wasn't resolved quickly.
Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com.