TWO of Australia's greatest industrial adversaries, the Maritime Union of Australia and stevedoring company Patrick Terminals, are again in the trenches over conditions at the country's major container terminals.
After what it says are more than 220 industrial disruptions since February 2020, Patrick went to the Fair Work Commission this week seeking to have its existing enterprise agreement terminated and its 1080 or so stevedores put back onto the award.
It's gone public with a list of its grievances, which include "removing from the enterprise agreement matters which should be subject to policy, for example, provision of Foxtel, protective clothing, gym allowances, prescription glasses, tea/coffee & Milo, quiet rooms & WiFi, notice boards, microwaves, fridges, chairs, grills, lounges and recliner seats".
It has also released details of what it says are "average" earnings at its four terminals, which work out to be $160,879 on a 35-hour roster with bonuses and overtime.
It says the average days worked in a year are 178.
This compares with a nominal working year of 233 days, comprising 52 five-day weeks minus seven public holidays and 20 days' annual leave.
And it has hit out at what it says is an attempt by the union to replicate a condition won in August at rival operator Hutchison Ports, which gives the union and its members the right to nominate 70 per cent of the workforce.
This "friends and family" clause shocked employer groups but was approved by the Fair Work Commission and is apparently not in breach of any existing discrimination laws.
Patrick says the MUA's industrial actions at Botany, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle have further disrupted a supply chain already in disarray because of COVID, while the union says the company is "defaming the workforce in a most disgraceful fashion by distorting public perceptions of a legally sanctioned bargaining process".
The company said the strike did not directly affect Newcastle because it did not have a container terminal.
National MUA secretary Paddy Crumlin accused Patrick of "bullying and intimidation" towards its "hard working" employees who "deliver" for the business "every day without complaint in the face of the enormous and debilitating conditions of COVID-19".
The union says there are only "a few issues" still in dispute but the "Foxtel" list is just one of 13 areas nominated publicly by Patrick, eight of which involve staffing.
Patrick chief executive Michael Jovicic said: "Terminating the agreement will allow Patrick to recruit and train employees without needing the agreement of the union and remove any "friends and family" union-imposed restrictions.
"The world has changed, and we need to be able to recruit and promote the best people for the job rather than be hamstrung by antiquated union-led processes and policies that restrict our business."
MUA assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn said Patrick was "crying poor" despite a profit of $25.6 million and a 3.3 per cent lift in cargo volumes and had "unfettered control" of employment.
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