Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) is facing imminent industrial disruption in the face of a union agenda to force Australia’s first fully automated container terminal to comply with “industry standards” by adopting the incompatible hours, manning and overtime conditions that govern the manually operated terminals around Australia.
This would see Australia’s most modern terminal saddled with inappropriate working arrangements with its efficiencies seriously compromised and its potential to achieve profitability put at risk.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has given notice of a four-hour stoppage in the terminal commencing Tuesday 16th from 16:00 to 20:00 that will impact up to 34% of containers destined for the Port of Melbourne with shipping lines facing significant delays in bringing supplies to Melbourne.
The MUA is demanding wage increases equivalent to between 5.8% to 11% each year over 3 years for certain roles, with overtime and penalty rates to rise by 50% to 100% from current rates. The MUA is also seeking a paid week off every 10 weeks, plus reduced shifts in the 9th week, effectively reducing time worked by 11.4%.
The MUA roster would require an additional panel of employees to make the operation viable, requiring a 25% increase in labour numbers, 11.4% fewer hours for everyone, plus a wage increase of up to 20%.
If fully accepted, the MUA claims will cause the total cost of employment at VICT to rise by 117% or more than $119.1 million over the four years, making this ground breaking project unviable.
The MUA is attempting to impose on VICT the Union’s “industry standards” based on the waterfront 7-hr manual labour roster favoured by other stevedores. This is despite VICT workers supporting VICT’s current model of 12-hour shifts, 4 days on and 4 days off equal time rosters which offer full-time jobs working only 15 days a month. The existing roster maximises the operability and efficiency of VICT’s automated terminal whilst maintaining healthy work life balance for the employees.
Fully automated, VICT is the only Port of Melbourne stevedore that operates outside the West Gate Bridge, enabling it to berth the larger ships now serving the Port of Melbourne. Industrial action impacting VICT will therefore significantly impact the Port and the Victorian economy.
Commenting on the proposed union action, CEO of VICT Tim Vancampen said: “The maritime unions are attempting to steer the waterfront firmly back to the past, effectively by ignoring the efficiencies of automation and hobbling VICT with outdated ways of working and inapplicable wages and benefits.
“As the first fully automated terminal in Australia we never expected to be popular with traditional waterside unions, but we couldn’t have anticipated such unrealistic demands. We’ve been in negotiations for months, however the MUA is unwilling to consider reasonable differences in VICT’s operation.”
“VICT operates Australia’s first and only fully automated terminal. Our employees are not traditional waterside labourers, they’re typically computer operators and maintenance engineers. Most operating roles and standards that are now unique to the industry are completely foreign to the MUA’s experience and understanding.”
Over the course of months of negotiations, VICT has offered a wage increase of 2.5 per cent for the first two years and 3 per cent for the third and fourth years respectively. Casual employees have been offered a 20 per cent wage increase for the first year with increases of 2.5 per cent for the second year and 3 per cent for the third and fourth years. VICT will also be creating 18 new permanent jobs each paying over $100,000 per year.
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