THE Maritime Union has given notice of additional protected industrial action at Patrick terminals in Brisbane, Sydney and Fremantle. 

Patrick has said delays at its Sydney terminal are now up to three and a half days. 

“With ongoing industrial action, delays for vessels arriving at the terminal are expected to increase over the next fortnight,” Patrick said in a notice to customers. 

“To assist with the delays, we have sub-contracted one vessel and will continue to explore options to mitigate delays.” 

The company said delays at its Fremantle terminal are about two days. Delays are also expected to increase in Fremantle. 

In Brisbane, Patrick said, “Following recent industrial action, the terminal is working towards recovering and restoring schedule”. 

Patrick Terminals said it continues to work with customers to minimise the impact of the industrial action. 

“Patrick Terminals is proactively working towards a fair and reasonable arrangement for all parties with the regular engagement of MUA representatives both at a local and national level,” the company said. 

Limited impact on freight customers

MUA assistant national secretary Jamie Newlyn said negotiations with Patrick have been ongoing for more than 18 months. 

“All we want is for Patrick to genuinely negotiate on the small number of issues that remain so that we can finalise a fair agreement that provides certainty for workers, the company, and customers,” he said. 

“To achieve this, MUA members plan to undertake limited forms of legally-protected industrial action at several Patrick container terminals, including a ban on working overtime on days where they are rostered off at Fremantle and three one-hour work stoppages in Brisbane.” 

 Mr Newlyn said these forms of industrial action are legal, minor in nature, and will have a limited impact on freight customers. 

“As a demonstration of goodwill, MUA members did not take any form of industrial action between September last year and May this year in an effort to assist Patrick with the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID pandemic,” he said.  

“It’s time for that goodwill to be returned by the company through genuine efforts to bring these negotiations to a conclusion.” 

List of PIA notices

The following is a list of PIAs that Patrick Terminals has reported. It said it had not received any PIA notices for its Melbourne terminal. 

Patrick Terminals – Sydney AutoStrad 

  • A ban on the performance of overtime at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 20th May 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021. 
  • A ban on the working of shift extensions at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 20th May 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021. 
  • A ban on the performance of overtime at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 17th June 2021. 
  • A ban on the working of shift extensions at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 17th June 2021. 
  • A ban on the performance of upgrades and/or work in higher levels at Port Botany (Sydney) commencing at 10:00pm Friday 4 June 2021 until 10:00pm Sunday 6 June 2021. 
  • A ban on the performance of upgrades and/or work in higher levels at Port Botany (Sydney) commencing at 10:00pm Friday 11 June 2021 until 10:00pm Sunday 13 June 2021. 

Patrick Terminals – Brisbane AutoStrad 

  • A ban on attending work on days an employee is rostered as “off/avail” commencing from 7am Saturday 15th May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 16 May 2021. 
  • A ban on working overtime commencing from 7am Saturday 15th May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 16 May 2021. 
  • A ban on attending for work on days an employee is rostered as “off/avail” commencing from 11pm Friday 28 May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 30 May 2021. 
  • A ban on working overtime at Fisherman Island (Brisbane) from 11pm Friday 28 May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 30 May 2021. 
  • A ban on the performance of upgrades and/or work in higher levels at Fisherman Island (Brisbane) commencing at 11:00pm Friday 4 June 2021 until 7:00am Saturday 5 June 2021. 
  • A ban on the performance of overtime at Fisherman Island (Brisbane) commencing at 11:00pm Friday 4 June 2021 until 7:00am Saturday 5 June 2021. 
  • Work stoppages for 1-hour duration at 03.30, 11.30 and 19.30 on Tuesday 15 June 2021, Wednesday 16 June 2021 and Thursday 17 June 2021. 

Patrick Terminals – Fremantle  

  • A ban on attending work on days an employee is rostered as “off/avail” commencing from 7am Saturday 15th May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 23 May 2021. 
  • A ban on attending work on days an employee is rostered as “off/avail” commencing from 7am Tuesday 25th May 2021 and finishing 7am Tuesday 8 June 2021. 
  • Work stoppages of 1-hour duration at 0600, 1400 and 2200 each day from 27 May 2021 (excluding Saturday and Sunday) finishing on 4 June 2021. 
  • A ban on attending for work on days an employee is rostered as “off/avail” commencing from 7.00am Friday 11 June 2021 and ending at 7.00am on Wednesday 30 June 2021. 

This article has been updated to include comment from the MUA.