Michael Jovicic, CEO of Patrick Terminals, said: “Enough is enough. We have presented the WMA with an attractive national offer that complements its already very generous agreement, including a 10% wage increase over four years combined with guarantees that address concerns about the use of casual workers and job security. Negotiations have been going on for almost two years and, frankly, there does not seem to be an agreement, especially in Sydney, where the union still requires us to hire from a select list of family members and friends. He said the parties` disagreements were “easy to resolve,” but that Patrick was trying to “defame the workforce in the most shameful way by distorting public perception of a legally sanctioned negotiation process.” Patrick has been negotiating with his employees and the MUA to address these restrictions since February 2020 and has held more than 70 meetings to reach a new company agreement. The MUA initiated more than 220 industrial actions against Patrick Terminals at the national level during the negotiation period. This has recently intensified with further measures at Patrick`s four terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle for the coming days and weeks. “Our market share and operations have suffered from muA`s relentless industrial campaign and its insidious position of `jobs for young people`. We need to give our customers operational security, and that includes a workable agreement with our employees. Our customers are asking us to take steps to resolve this situation. The Stevedor on Tuesday asked the Fair Work Commission to terminate its agreement with the Maritime Union of Australia on the grounds that the agreement was “no longer fit for purpose” and limited its ability to meet customer needs at a time when supply chains were extremely strained due to the pandemic.

“Disagreements between the two sides are easy to resolve and have been reached within the industry with other stevedoring companies without resorting to this type of character assassination.” In his submissions, Patrick told the Commission that the layoff would allow him to hire more employees, determine the composition of his workforce and make changes to the list to meet the company`s needs – all without union agreement. although consultations are still needed. In fact, muA was able to sign contracts with rivals DP World, VICT and Hutchison this year, leading the industry to expect a new deal with Patrick to be imminent. Terminating the agreement will allow Patrick to recruit and train employees without requiring union approval and remove any restrictions imposed by the union on “friends and family,” the company said in a statement. Termination would also eliminate contractual matters that Patrick says should be subject to the policy, such as “providing Foxtel, protective clothing, gym allowances, prescription glasses, tea/coffee and milo, quiet rooms and Wi-Fi, bulletin boards, microwaves, refrigerators, chairs, grills, etc. lounges and reclining seats”. “We are at the end of the road and need an agreement with our employees that works for our customers and allows us to remain competitive in the future market.” It would not be contrary to the public interest for the Commission to terminate the company agreement, because: “In the long term”, that is to say in just six months, the termination of this agreement will reduce employees` salaries by more than 50%. Under the Tieming Industry Award, base annual salaries range from $40,175 to $56,919. Workers employed as casual workers under the award earn a base rate between $27.59 and $39.09 per hour. Patrick Terminals announced early Tuesday evening, October 26, 2021, that he had filed a motion with the industry arbitrator, the Fair Work Commission, for the termination of his contract with the Maritime Union of Australia.

However, Patrick`s owner, Qube, who inherited the company deal from former owner Asciano, seems determined to reclaim muA terms and control over staffing and recruitment. “Today we submitted a request to the FWC for the cancellation of our current agreement. Stevedoring company Patrick Terminals appeared yesterday before the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and called for the termination of the company agreement (EA), which covers its 1,081 employees across the country. The Patrick deal was negotiated between muA and Patrick`s former owner, Asciano, shortly before Qube acquired Patrick in 2016. “Negotiations have been ongoing for almost two years and, frankly, there doesn`t seem to be an agreement, especially in Sydney, where the union is still demanding that we hire from a shortlist of family and friends. More recently, however, the Commission rejected Esso`s attempt to end its union agreement for offshore workers in Bass Strait after deciding that the injustice against workers was more important than the productivity benefits to the company. The deal is no longer fit for purpose as it includes a number of operating restrictions that have limited Patrick`s ability to meet customer requirements at a time of overloading global supply chains, the container terminal operator said. In 2015, the Commission terminated the trade union agreements of the rail freight company Aurizon after it claimed that outdated provisions, such as .

B the unforced redundancies affected its competitiveness and that there was no prospect of a new agreement. Patrick has been negotiating with his employees and the MUA to address these restrictions since February 2020 and has held more than 70 meetings to reach a new company agreement. Michael Jovicic, Patrick`s CEO, said: “Enough is enough. We have made an attractive national offer to the WMA, in addition to the already very generous agreement, including a 10% wage increase over four years, coupled with guarantees that address concerns about the use of casual workers and job security. This decision is unusual, but the Commission could lead the Commission to grant the request with a notice period in order to stimulate negotiations on a new agreement. Mr Jovicic said: “It looks like there probably isn`t an agreement, particularly in Sydney, where the union still requires us to hire from a select list of family members and friends. Termination of the agreement will allow Patrick to hire and train employees without union approval. Patrick Terminals submitted an application to the Fair Work Commission for the termination of the company agreement with the MUA. Patrick Terminals has guaranteed not to change the vacation rights, wages and other rates of pay applicable to employees under the Company Agreement for a period of 6 months from the date of a termination order. She also requested an expedited Hearing from the Fair Work Board. . The Fair Work Board has taken a mixed approach to requests for dismissal made during negotiations on the grounds that they are in the public interest.

Neil Chambers, director of the Container Transport Alliance Australia, said the MUA strike in Sydney was “an opportunity for its members to `take a holiday and watch the race`. He added: “This is a bad form and another example of the arrogance and pride of Patrick`s management that prevented an earlier resolution of the few issues in our contract negotiations with them. MUA should be ashamed. The number of delays caused by the trade union action imposed on Patricks is just one more line in the work of an already tense logistics system. Here in Fremantle, the ships waited up to 10 days to dock, as there were rotation interruptions and no overtime or overtime. According to Melbourne, airlines are not able to bring these ships into the Dp world because they are already full. This has led airlines to skip Fremantle or simply miss departures due to delays. It costs us, Patrick`s customers and no doubt the shipping companies millions of dollars in lost revenue that we can`t make up for until Christmas. Shame on MUA, the sooner automation arrives in our ports, the better! Shame, shame, shame!! Patrick has offered the MA the following over the past 12 months:• 2.5% year-on-year increase for four years• Guaranteed job security without mandatory layoffs• Commitment to preserve jobs with a focus on permanent positions• Caps on the use of casual work. The company claims that the sticking point in the negotiations is “the MUA and its insidious stance on `jobs for boys`”, referring to a `family and friends` clause that the union is trying to insert into the EA (only in Port Botany). The minimum team would be abolished, which the union believes is for safety, but Patrick says they are actually union vetoes against the number of employees.

Michael Jovicic, CEO of Patrick Terminals, said: “Enough is enough.”