AUSTRALIA’S grain export infrastructure is facing mounting industrial unrest, with union-led stoppages at GrainCorp’s Port of Newcastle and CBH’s Kwinana Grain Terminal revealing deep fractures between port operators and frontline workers.
Grain handlers represented by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and Electrical Trades Union (ETU) walked off the job at GrainCorp’s Carrington terminal on 22 September, launching a 72-hour strike in protest over stalled wage negotiations. The unions rejected GrainCorp’s offer of a 3% pay rise, calling it “pathetic” amid soaring living costs and record company profits.
GrainCorp is expected to export 1.2 million tonnes this year — one of its top three volumes in six decades — yet workers say they’re bearing the brunt of excessive overtime, weekend shifts, and eroding work-life balance.
Union officials accuse GrainCorp of stonewalling negotiations and refusing to engage in good-faith bargaining. ETU organiser Brad McDougall said management is “running scared,” while MUA Newcastle Branch Secretary Glen Williams described the company’s stance as “corporate greed, pure and simple.”
The Newcastle action follows a tense standoff at CBH Group’s Kwinana Grain Terminal in Western Australia, where industrial action was temporarily suspended earlier this month. Workers launched rolling 24-hour stoppages in early September, prompting CBH to lock out 130 staff over maintenance-related bans.
The unions are demanding a 6% annual wage increase over three years, while CBH has offered 2.5%. MUA WA Branch Secretary Will Tracey accused CBH of “the worst of corporate bastardry,” citing pay cuts of more than 90% during partial work bans and alleging Kwinana workers earn up to 10% less than their counterparts at other CBH sites.
A two-week cooling-off period brokered by the Fair Work Commission began on 6 September, with bargaining meetings underway. However, no breakthrough has been reported, and unions have signalled readiness to “go the full distance” if talks collapse.
In a Facebook post this week, MUA WA said both CBH and the union had been ordered to keep off social media for the past two weeks and CBH has agreed to extend the suspension of the lockout by another 14 days through to Saturday, 4 October.
While grain exports have not yet been disrupted at either terminal, the risk profile is rising. Kwinana handles more than half of WA’s grain output, and any renewed bans on loading, unloading, or sampling could delay vessel turnarounds and disrupt bulk wheat shipments to key markets including Indonesia, China, and Japan.
GrainCorp’s Newcastle terminal is also a critical export node, and prolonged action could impact rail and truck logistics, tightening supply chains ahead of the peak export season.
The disputes at Newcastle and Kwinana suggest potential for coordinated national action is growing.
CBH Group Chief People Officer Jacky Connolly said CBH and representatives from the WA branches of the Maritime Union Australia (MUA) and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) attended a conciliation conference in the Fair Work Commission.
All parties have agreed to the Commissioner’s recommendation of an extension of the cooling-off period for another two weeks where all industrial action on both sides will be temporarily suspended.
This means the lockout will continue to be suspended from 7am on Saturday, 20 September 2025 to 7am Saturday 4 October.
All parties have agreed to regular bargaining meetings over the next two weeks, some of which will be facilitated by the Commissioner.
“We appreciate this has been a difficult time and we continue to work for a resolution with our plant operators and maintenance employees, and the unions, for a fair and reasonable agreement to be in place as soon as possible.”
GrainCorp has also been approached for comment.