Tug operator Svitzer Australia has advised of new notices of protected industrial action, starting this coming Wednesday, 26 October.
Despite efforts to reach an agreement, all three maritime unions have advised of a 4-hour work stoppage on 26 October between 1200 hours AEDT and 1600 hours AEDT (and equivalent times across Australian time zones).
This affects all ports covered by the National Towage enterprise agreement.
Further, the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) has given notice of an indefinite ban on recall. Effectively, this action bans Tug Masters from coming in to do any work while on leave. This reduces crew availability to provide coverage when ports are faced by sickness or absences of staff.
A termination hearing before Fair Work Australia remains set down for 8-14 December 2022, with further 3 weeks of hearings in February 2023.
Svitzer SAY THEY will continue to do all it can to minimise the disruption to services and ports we operate during the industrial action.
