Dommestrup welcomes move to proceed through normal industrial relations channels
Union action against the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) appears to have cooled with the picket there ending after a Supreme Court of Australia injunction.
VICT chief executive Anders Dommestrup today welcomed the Maritime Union of Australia’s (MUA’s) decision “to remove the illegal picket it had organised and managed for the past two and a half weeks”.
“Our employees, who played no part in the illegal picket, will be able to enter our site this afternoon. I thank them sincerely for their support and patience.
“I also thank the Australian Maritime Officers Union, (AMOU) of which some of our employees are members, for its forbearance.
“We welcome the fact that the MUA will be processing its claims through the Fair Work Act.
“We are currently entering the terminal to prepare it for full re-opening as soon as possible and we will inform all our customers directly through 1-Stop.”
Read about the injunction against industrial action, here
The move came after the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which is conducting an global campaign against VICT parent company International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), and the Australian Communist Party backed the picket and other union actions.
The catalyst appears to be the payment of a sacked casual worker who had been refused a security clearance to at least the outcome of a hearing on the matter next year.
The Victorian Transport Association (VTA) gave the turn of events the thumbs up, with CEO Peter Anderson saying it is “pleased that unions that have been disrupting VICT operations for over two weeks have finally come to their senses, and are disbanding their illegal picket after discussions with the company.
“It is our hope that normal operations can resume at the terminal as quickly as possible so that freight operators can have access to goods that have been languishing on the dock for too long.
“We applaud both parties for working to achieve a reasonable outcome, and for resolving further matters through the industrial relations system.”