Australian industry breathed a sigh of relief with the news that dockers and terminal operator DP World had agreed a four-year deal which would see year-on-year pay increases while also allowing for 24-hour terminal operations.
The dispute has been ongoing since last October and has caused a backlog of over 50,000 containers to be built at DPW’s four terminals, the acrimonious dispute had split industry opinion with carriers backing the terminal operator and unions finding support from ministers.
DPW Australia and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) hammered out the deal under the auspices of the Fair Work Commission and the deal remains to be ratified by its members.
The deal includes annual pay rises of 8%, 7%, 4% and 4.5% for the 1,800 wharfies, and an additional sign-on bonus of $2,000.
Nicolaj Noes, executive VP at DPW Oceania, said he was satisfied with the deal: “This agreement is a testament to our commitment to our workforce and to providing uninterrupted services to our customers.”
MUA assistant national secretary, Adrian Evans was also upbeat: “Wharfies… are amongst the hardest working, most productive and most flexible workforces in the Australian economic landscape.”
But the MUA could not resist a dig at the company: “The past fortnight has shown how quickly a fair and sustainable deal can be resolved once both the workforce and the employer are fully engaged in the negotiation process,” said Evans, adding the union had sought an early start to negotiations in March last year, a full six months before the expiry of the previous deal.
It was a view seemingly taken by the government with the Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke having admonished DPW last month for its intransigence: “I think Australians are sick to death of having highly profitable companies say everything is the fault of them having to pay their workforce the same as their competitors”.
However, the industry remains concerned about the possible effects and the high cost of the deal, with the Container Transport Alliance Australia director Neil Chambers claiming that consumers would ultimately pay the consequences.
“Wait until next year and the year after that when they [DPW] have to account for these added labour costs,” he said.
While welcoming the end of industrial action Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox believes there will be “a long-term cost for industry and consumers”.
Willox added, the dispute, “Caused significant damage across the economy, impacting both importers and exporters who have seen long delays, increased costs, shortages of vital materials and loss of contracts due to being unable to fulfil orders.”
Citing the above inflation wage increases, Willox said this will “Inevitably lead to increased costs and charges for industry and end consumers in the years ahead.”
DPW, however, says it is now focused on dealing with the backlog of around 52,000 containers at its terminals which could take up to six weeks to complete.
Mary Ann Evans
Correspondent at Large
