DP World warns of more port strikes due to bargaining
DP World has been locked in talks with the Maritime Union of Australia due to a drawn-out pay dispute, with employees taking part in stop works, according to Australian Associated Press.
Australia's second largest port operator told a Senate inquiry into workplace laws on Monday the dispute was leading to a backlog of more than 54,000 shipping containers as well as an $84 million weekly hit to the economy.
DP World vice-president Mark Ratcliffe said new laws allowing for multi-employer bargaining would lead to other port operators facing similar strikes.
Unions have called for a 16 per cent pay rise for DP World staff to bring salaries into line with fellow stevedore Patrick.
However, DP World's head of corporate affairs Blake Tierney said its port workers were still highly paid. "Our employees are paid in the top 10 per cent of earners in Australia," he said.
Workplace Minister Tony Burke said the government would not intervene in the industrial dispute, despite calls for it to happen.
Debate on the industrial relations laws is set to resume in federal parliament in February when MPs and senators return to Canberra.
