DP WORLD: MUA Industrial Action

Friday, September 29, 2023

Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) wish to advise that we have received information that the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has given notice of industrial action at DP World terminals starting on 6 October.

The industrial action is being taken as a result of recent breakdown in negotiations on a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, with work bans and work stoppages (in some cases for the full 24hrs) planned for DP World terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Fremantle.   

in the news, broken by Daily Cargo News (DCN), DP World executive vice-president for Oceania Nicolaj Noes is quoted as suggesting DP World recognises the "right to freedom of association" but noted the "significant impact such actions have on the national economy and supply chain". 

"We remain dedicated to a co-operative and productive dialogue with CFMEU-MUA Division. Parties have invested more than 90 hours in ongoing discussions to reach a national agreement," he said.

As of Friday 29 September DP World has claimed there had been 28 meetings, with 118 hours of discussions to date and "there seems to be a trend towards one-sided negotiations," the company said.
 
"There have been 363 claims made nationally by the CFMEU-MUA Division. If the majority of these claims are agreed to, it would severely limit the efficiency of the Australian supply chain, with the ultimate cost being passed onto the Australian consumer."

Mr Noes said: "DP World is steadfast in its dedication to forging a win-win agreement with CFMEU-MUA Division. Our focus lies in enhancing productivity, service delivery, and addressing the needs of our workforce. We earnestly request the union to partake in positive discussions to safeguard the wider Australian economic landscape and supply chain."

The MUA members delivered a 99%-100% 'yes' vote to every protected industrial action question across all four Australian DP World terminals, with a 92% participation rate in the ballots.

MUA assistant national secretary Adrian Evans claimed that DP World managers were "pushing for wage cuts of up to 32% and roster changes that would see family life suffer across its entire permanent workforce".
"All of our demands during the bargaining process come under those four, crucial and completely reasonable headings. To refuse them is indefensible in the current environment," Mr Evans said.

"The MUA has just concluded another two days attempting to negotiate DP World's managers, where we managed to get agreement on a couple of minor drafting issues, but the company still refuses to move on the bulk of our claims and continues to push its own aggressive attacks on workers' pay and conditions through its original log of claims," Mr Evans said.

"A further three days of bargaining meetings are scheduled for 17-19 October, but given the lack of movement yet again and the fact the current agreement expires tomorrow, we have notified the company that we will be taking protected industrial action nationally starting next week. This is intended to give management a push along and bring them back to the negotiating table with an improved spirit of co-operation and respect for the serious claims their workforce is bringing to them," Mr Evans said.

List of Work Bans 

Following is a list of bans according to DP World that the union will be taking from 7 October, as at 29 September.

DP WORLD SYDNEY
 
7 OCTOBER 2023 (0600 HOURS) – BANS BEGIN FOR:
  •  Any work on ships for 8 hours after berthing
  • Attending work when called past usual notification time
  • Advanced or delayed starts
  • Fixed Salary Employees (FSEs) not working as per specific rosters
  • Performance of work outside of roster panel assigned on 4 September 2023
  • Work on subcontracted vessels
  • Taking delayed or advanced meal breaks
 9 OCTOBER TO 13 OCTOBER 2023 (0600 TO 2200 HOURS) – BANS INCLUDE:
  • Overtime
  • Shift extensions
  • Upgrades on dayshift
DP WORLD MELBOURNE
 
8 OCTOBER 2023 (1200 HOURS ONWARDS) – BANS AND STOPPAGES INCLUDE:
  • 24-hour work stoppage
  • Bans on work for ships for 8 hours after berthing, attending late calls, advanced or delayed starts, grade 7 work, FSE's non-specific rostered shifts, and work outside of roster panel assigned on 4 September 2023
9 TO 13 OCTOBER 2023 – BANS INCLUDE:
  • Overtime and shift extensions (from 0001 hours 9 Oct to 2359 hours 13 Oct)
  • 12-hour work stoppage on 9 Oct at 1200 hours
  • 8-hour work stoppage on 10 Oct starting 0001 hours
  • 24-hour ban on loading/unloading trucks and trains starting 0600 hours on 13 Oct

15 TO 20 OCTOBER 2023 – MULTIPLE WORK STOPPAGES AND BANS, MOST NOTABLY INCLUDING:
  • Four 1-hour consecutive stoppages starting 1800 hours on 15 Oct
  • Two consecutive 2-hour stoppages starting 0600 hours on 16 Oct
  • Several 8-hour upgrade bans on specific dates
  • Overtime and shift extensions ban from 16 to 20 Oct
 
DP WORLD FREMANTLE
 
6 OCTOBER 2023 (0600 HOURS ONWARDS) – BANS AND STOPPAGES INCLUDE:
 
  • 24-hour work stoppage
  • Overtime, shift extensions, work on ships for 8 hours after berthing, attending late calls, advanced or delayed starts, grade 7 work, FSE's non-specific rostered shifts, work outside of roster panel assigned on 4 September 2023, work on subcontracted vessels, delayed or advanced meal breaks, and work on public holidays
7 OCTOBER 2023:
 
  • Multiple work stoppages ranging from 4 hours to 12 hours throughout the day
DP WORLD BRISBANE
 
7 OCTOBER 2023 (0700 HOURS ONWARDS) – BANS INCLUDE:
  •  Work on ships for 8 hours after berthing, advanced or delayed starts, work during another employee's rest period from the proposed agreement, work on subcontracted vessels, FSE's non-specific rostered shifts, work outside of roster panel assigned on 4 September 2023, early or later meal breaks, and attending 4-hour shifts except for training or meetings
9 TO 13 OCTOBER 2023 (0700 TO 2300 HOURS) – BANS INCLUDE:
  • Overtime
  • Shift extensions
  • Deployment of more than two ship crane gangs on dayshift

Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and the Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) urges all parties involved in the industrial dispute to work together on a quick resolution to minimise the impact on workers, freight and the nation. 

Updates will be posted at www.FTAlliance.com.au 

Tom Jensen - Head of International Freight & Logistics -  FTA / APSA

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