Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent | Sep 25, 2020 2:43PM EDT
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Shippers hope a new employment contract between DP World Australia and dockworkers in the Port of Sydney could pave the way for similar labor agreements between stevedores and other terminal operators in the country after two years of industrial actions.
The Friday announcement by DP World and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) on a new labor agreement "looks promising," John Park, head of business operations at shippers group the Freight and Trade Alliance (FTA), told JOC.com. "Hopefully the agreements will apply nationally."
In separate statements, DP World and the MUA said they expected to finalize an employment agreement covering Sydney's Port Botany terminal next week. MUA said agreements could also cover DP World terminals in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Fremantle.
Dockworkers are currently taking industrial action against Patrick Terminals and Hutchison Ports across Australia, including in Sydney and Brisbane.
"For these other stevedores, we hope they may take a lead from this breakthrough and be able to manage their respective agreements to a successful outcome. That said, the past relationship between Patrick Terminals and the MUA has been a rocky one," Park said.
Neil Chambers, director of the industry association Container Transport Alliance Australia, estimated congestion at Patrick's Port Botany terminal is costing truckers A$1 million ($700,000) a month in lost productivity, while more than 50,000 TEU is stranded in Sydney's logistics chain at container parks and terminals.
Over the last few weeks, the labor unrest has combined with bad weather and port congestion to cause significant cargo and vessel delays. Mediterranean Shipping Co., CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd are levying a congestion surcharge of up to $300 per TEU for all cargo to and from Sydney, with some carriers also discharging cargo in Melbourne, costing shippers an extra $2,500 to truck their goods to Sydney.
Maersk said Sept. 18 it would temporarily stop accepting new cargo bookings from Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent to Sydney, although bookings could reopen from Oct. 1.
Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com.