THE AUSTRALIAN Maritime Officers Union has warned marine pilots at the Port of Brisbane are considering taking protected industrial action over slow-moving enterprise agreement negotiations with employer Poseidon Sea Pilots.

The AMOU filed a protected action ballot order application on Thursday this week (22 June) which includes stop-work bans in Brisbane. The Fair Work Commission approved the application following a hearing on Friday (23 June).

AMOU senior organiser Tracey Ellis told DCN the union asked for stop-work bans ranging from one hour to seven days in length, along with other forms of industrial action including overtime bans and bans on driving company vehicles.

The AMOU represents marine pilots working for PSP, a fully owned subsidiary of AMS Group. PSP operates at Port of Brisbane under a tender it won in 2021.

The union claims PSP offered incentives to recruits to help build the pilotage workforce in Brisbane in the early days of operations, but the pilots are still on common-law contracts.

Ms Ellis said the current common-law contract arrangements mean pilots who do the same jobs are earning different amounts of pay and annual leave because some are still on “sweetheart deals” left over from the early days of business.

The pilots are therefore seeking a collective agreement to level their pay and leave arrangements, and also to understand what they are entitled to.

The AMOU filed a Majority Support Determination in the Fair Work Commission in August last year, indicating a majority of the pilots were in favour of the enterprise agreement and were ready to bargain.

But Ms Ellis said the pilots had waited for 10 months for enterprise agreement negotiations to produce a collective agreement. They are now considering taking industrial action.

“The pilots have provided the company with ample opportunity to respond to their log of claims, but this has not eventuated,” Ms Ellis said.

The union claims PSP this past week has “tried to reduce their employees’ bargaining power” by meeting with pilots individually, reportedly to try and get some to consent to reducing their annual leave under common law contracts to be in line with newer pilots.

A spokesperson for Poseidon Sea Pilots told DCN the company was disappointed by the AMOU’s approach to the matter.

“In an entirely predictable but nonetheless disappointing negotiating tactic, the AMOU have decided to pollute sensible and collaborative discussions aimed at reaching a mutually agreeable EBA, by campaigning in the media with half-truths and misinformation,” the spokesperson said.

“Poseidon Sea Pilots won’t be distracted from day-to-day business, knowing that nothing is resolved by public brawling.

“We believe that we can achieve more efficient port operations and achieve an agreed EBA that is to the benefit of all parties.

“It’s time for the AMOU to get serious and sit back down at the negotiating table and work it out.”

The Fair Work Commission gave PSP until 1200 on Friday (23 June) to confirm whether it opposed AMOU’s application for a protected action ballot.

The protected action ballot, having been approved by the Fair Work Commission, will remain open for voting over the next 30 days.

Ms Ellis said the AMOU would therefore have the ability to take action by the end of next month, at the end of the 30-day period.

And the union, in a statement, told marine pilots an enterprise agreement would be a positive outcome.

“An enterprise agreement will not hurt you,” it said. “If you have negotiated better conditions for yourself, Poseidon will still have to honour those conditions when an EA is approved.

“Don’t cross the picket line and prevent your colleagues from getting a deal as good as you.”

Ms Ellis said the matter could be finalised before the end of the 30-day period if the company wants to get moving on negotiations, as the employees do.

“The AMOU is not looking to cause harm, we’re trying to bring the company back to the table,” she said.

This article has been updated to include a statement from Poseidon Sea Pilots and the outcome of the Fair Work Commission hearing on Friday afternoon.