WORKERS at the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) at Melbourne’s Webb Dock have won significant improvements to job security, working hours, and rates of pay following a three year industrial campaign.

The Maritime Union of Australia said the agreement would deliver immediate benefits to the workforce, with 75 percent of casual roles being converted to permanent jobs, along with pay increases of between 14.5 and 46.5 percent over four years, depending on employment classifications.

The MUA has now finalised agreements with VICT, DP World Australia, Hutchison, and have reached in-principle agreement with Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal, leaving Patrick as the only container terminal operator in the country where the union has been unable to successfully conclude negotiations.

The VICT enterprise agreement contains significant family-friendly provisions, including new rosters that reduce hours of work at the terminal, less reliance on overtime, vastly improved long service leave provisions, and the introduction of income protection insurance.

Job security provisions will also prevent VICT from outsourcing, offshoring, or contracting out work covered by the agreement, while workers will have input prior to any forced redundancies.

VICT and the MUA have also settled several long-running legal disputes, with both sides agreeing to terminate the matter to ensure a functional industrial relationship going forward.

MUA assistant national secretary Adrian Evans said the agreement was formally signed today following the unanimous endorsement of VICT workers yesterday.

“This is the one of the most significant agreements ever struck in the maritime industry, bringing the wages and conditions of VICT workers up to industry standards,” Mr Evans said.

“While it delivers valuable wage rises that will see the pay packets of some workers increase by 46.5 percent over the life of the agreement, the most significant provisions are around job security and the creation of 61 permanent jobs at the terminal.

“The agreement delivers provisions that protect workers from having their jobs outsourced, sent overseas, or contracted out, along with genuine negotiations before any forced redundancies take place.

“VICT’s reliance on casual labour and excessive overtime were the most significant issues for workers, which is why they took legally protected industrial action to further their campaign for permanent jobs that would provide economic security for their families.

“Without their united voice and commitment to collective action, this agreement with VICT could never have been achieved.”

Mr Evans said the agreement with VICT, which is owned by the Philippine-based global stevedoring company ICTSI, would deliver certainty for Australian business and the general community.

“This agreement follows the finalisation of enterprise agreements with almost all of Australia’s container terminal operators, including DP World Australia, Hutchison, and an in-principle deal with Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal,” he said.

“We have achieved fair agreements that properly compensate workers for delivering record productivity on the waterfront, while also providing certainty for importers, exporters, and the Australian public.

“There is now only one container terminal operator in the country, Patrick, where the union has been unable to reach a reasonable outcome, despite long-running negotiations.

“MUA members at Patrick have never worked harder than during the COVID crisis, putting in place the safety measures that have kept vital supply chains operating, guaranteeing the delivery of medical supplies and ensuring supermarket shelves remain stocked.

“While Patrick has been reaping increased profits on the back of these efforts, along with pocketing congestion and port access charges, they have refused to follow the lead of other container terminal operators and finalise a fair agreement for their workforce.”

ends

THE Australian Banking Association, Bank of Queensland, Beyond Bank, HSBC Australia, ING Australia, Volt, Judo Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd and Unity Bank will appear before the House Economics Committee on July 1.

The public hearing is part of the committee’s ongoing Review of the Four Major Banks and other Financial Institutions and will be conducted via videoconference. The smaller bank sector last appeared before the committee in November 2019.

Chair, Tim Wilson MP, said, "Customer-owned and foreign banks operating in Australia are not exempt from scrutiny and should be held to account in the same way that the four major banks are. Smaller banks play an important role in Australia’s financial ecosystem, and they also have responsibilities to their customers to uphold.

"The committee’s scrutiny will include the banks’ progress in implementing the recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and the Financial Services industry. These hearings also give the committee an opportunity to question the banks on their approach to COVID-19."

The committee will also hear from newer banking players Volt and Judo Bank for the first time.

Mr Wilson said, "Neobanks have the potential to bring competition to the banking sector, however they have a long way to go and face many challenges, as we have seen with the acquisition of 86:400 and the closure of Xinja. We are looking forward to hearing from Volt and Judo Bank on their experience and role in the future of Australia’s banking sector."

Public hearing details

Date: Thursday, 1 July 2021
Time: 9.15am to 5pm
Location: Videoconference

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

ends

AUSTRALIA POST has announced agreements with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and NAB to offer banking services in Post Offices nationally for the next decade.

The landmark 10-year in-principle agreements with the two major banks allows Australia Post to support ongoing investment in the Bank@Post service in order to provide safe, reliable banking services for all Australians, particularly those in regional areas and small businesses.

The agreements also support the long-term sustainability of thousands of Licensed Post Offices and their owners, many of whom are small businesses and families who play an essential role in servicing their local communities. 

Australia Post executive general manager for community and consumer, Nicole Sheffield said today’s announcement highlighted the importance of Bank@Post which provides banking services at more than 3,500 local Post Offices.

“We know how important the local Post Office is for so many communities and small businesses – particularly in regional areas. The support of CBA and NAB will ensure access to banking services for those communities can be maintained, and additional related services introduced, to better support the needs of banking customers for the next decade,” Ms Sheffield said.

“The agreements will also allow us to invest further in our Post Office network, recognising the valuable role our people play in supporting communities across the country. Our Post Offices also play a critical role during natural disasters, emergencies and more recently through the COVID-19 pandemic with access to products and services through lockdowns and travel restrictions. 

“Australia Post looks forward to working closely with CBA, NAB and our other banking partners to continue to provide essential banking services to their customers across our national network of Post Offices.”

CBA group executive retail banking services, Angus Sullivan, said, “Millions of Australians rely on CBA to do their banking, and I’m proud that this renewed partnership gives our customers more choice with how and where they bank with us over the next decade. We know that some customers want face to face banking services and this partnership with Australia Post supports our commitment to ensuring our customers in regional Australia have ongoing access to these services at the more than 3,500 Bank@Post outlets across the country.  

“We have a strong relationship with Australia Post and investing multi millions of dollars each year for a decade in the capability, technology and security of Bank@Post outlets builds on our priority to reimagine services and ensure our customers can continue to bank easily, safely and securely whenever they visit a participating Australia Post outlet.” 

NAB group executive personal panking, Rachel Slade said, “We want to ensure we are serving our customers well no matter how they choose to bank with us. 

“Together with our branch network, this partnership means our customers have more than 4000 locations they can bank with us. It provides extra support, particularly for those remote and rural customers, to be able to access face-to-face banking services.”

Westpac’s contract with Australia Post has been extended for a further 12 months. Westpac and Australia Post have commenced negotiations around a possible new longer agreement. 

www.auspost.com.au

THE Accommodation Association today congratulated the NSW Government on its rapid provision of lockdown financial support for business but called for urgent assistance for Sydney hotels struggling to survive.

Accommodation Association CEO Dean Long said, "There’s not a hotel in Sydney that hasn’t been hard hit over the past 15 months of COVID travel bans and restrictions.

"These hotels are now sub 2 percent occupancy and facing at least 50 percent cancellation rates all the way through to August. They urgently need government support to offset this impact, to keep the doors open and to keep paying staff.
 
“The NSW Government’s support package is obviously welcome news for hotels outside metropolitan Sydney who will now be hit with school holiday cancellations, but it’s the Sydney hotels, including the larger ones, who most need help and need it now.
 
“We’ll continue to engage with government to ensure our sector and members emerge on the other side of COVID," Mr Long said.

 About the Accommodation Association

The Accommodation Association represents over 80 percent of all known accommodation providers from small regional parks, caravan parks, serviced apartments and resorts through to the largest hotel groups in the world including Accor, Hilton, Wyndham Destinations and IHG.

ends

THE Carbon Market Institute (CMI) has welcomed the release of a suite of carbon farming video case studies showing farmers benefiting from 'carbon money' under the Federal Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund.

The videos were produced in collaboration with the Clean Energy Regulator and tell the story of five different carbon farming methods: soil carbon, vegetation, revegetation, plantation forestry and human-induced regeneration.

John Connor, CEO of the CMI said, “These case studies highlight the significant employment and environmental benefits that come from carbon farming projects, as well as the climate benefits that flow from sequestering carbon through agricultural activities and land management.

“There’s been a decade of successful carbon farming in Australia and these stories are just the tip of the iceberg.”

The case studies, drawn from projects in New South Wales and Victoria, demonstrate that carbon farming works successfully with traditional farming practices, increases productivity and drought tolerance while reducing farm input costs, and provides farmers with new income streams. 

“The government’s Emission Reduction Fund has thrown a lifeline to the Carbon Farming Initiative that first began in 2011,” Mr Connor said. “Almost 1000 projects have been developed so far and thousands more can be delivered that will bring real benefits to regional Australia and the global climate.”

The CMI’s 2017 Carbon Farming Industry Roadmap highlights that with the right policies and ambition, carbon farming can support the development of over 20,000 jobs by 2030, and over $20 billion in carbon project revenue, mostly flowing to regional Australia.

Meanwhile, the CMI’s world-first Carbon Industry Code of Conduct, which defines industry best practice for carbon project developers, becomes fully operational on July 1, 2021.

“With the right policies, and a laser-like focus on integrity, our carbon farming industry can become a major exporter of carbon reduction credits and expertise to a world increasingly demanding them,” Mr Connor said.

The five projects highlighted in the videos are:

• soil carbon – Olsen’s;
• human induced regeneration – Brindingabba Station; 
• revegetation – Ploughshare;
• plantation forestry - WeAct;
• vegetation – avoided deforestation – Bulgoo Station. 

“It was a pleasure to visit these carbon farming sites firsthand to see the benefits being delivered and I’d encourage others to do so,” Mr Connor said. “I’d like to thank the farmers, their staff and local businesses we spoke to for their enthusiastic participation.”

About the CMI

The Carbon Market Institute is the industry association for business leading the transition to net-zero emissions and has over 100 corporate members including primary producers, carbon project developers, emission intensive companies and legal, banking and advisory service providers.

ends

ON TUESDAY June 29, the Northern Australia Committee will be hearing from stakeholders in South Australia and Queensland – the Global Water Institute, the Queensland Government, the Nuga Nuga Aboriginal Corporation, David Noonan, the Arabana Aboriginal Corporation and Andrew and Robert Starkey.

Northern Australia Committee chair Warren Entsch, who is the Federal Member for Leichardt, noted that the evidence gathering phase of the inquiry is drawing to a close.

"Tomorrow we will hear from stakeholders in South Australia about the unique problems they face in protecting heritage across the vast plains of that State’s north. With that, we will have spoken to people in every jurisdiction across Australia," Mr Entsch said.

"The mound springs which are of great significance to the Arabana people are at serious risk. The Arabana Aboriginal Corporation is concerned that the springs are disappearing due to the water use at BHP’s Roxby Downs Mine, which relies on the same water source as the springs."

Andrew and Robert Starkey, of the Kokatha people, have experienced significant destruction of heritage due to a Hill to Hill Transmission Line Easement which passed through a series of culturally significant sites. They are keen to share with the committee what has happened to their country.

Nuga Nuga Aboriginal Corporation has experienced significant issues with the ‘Last Claim Standing’ of the Queensland Act due to its impact on their ability to speak for country. Despite a judicial decision in their favour the Queensland Government decided to formerly legislate the provision; to the corporation’s dismay.

A program for the public hearing is available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday, 29 June 2021
Time: 10am to 4pm AEST
Location: by video/teleconference

The hearings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further details of the inquiry, including terms of reference, can be found on the Committee’s website.

ends

AFTER THREE YEARS of negotiations, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has reached a ground-breaking workplace agreement with the world’s largest stevedoring company, setting a new industry standard at container terminals in Sydney and Brisbane.

Workers will receive five 2.5 percent wage increases over the four year agreement once certified by the Fair Work Commission.

The agreement with Hutchison Ports Australia will see the introduction of 20 days paid domestic violence leave, the creation of permanent rosters, and the addition of a clause that gives the workforce the ability to find alternatives to redundancies in the event of an economic downturn.

MUA deputy national secretary Warren Smith said the negotiations had been among the hardest seen in the industry.

“This agreement will see job security strengthened at the terminals, with protection against job losses due to the implementation of automation, technology and contractors, along with a move to address insecure work with a cap on casual employees and an emphasis on rostered permanents and guarantee workers,” Mr Smith said.

“This agreement not only brings to an end three years of hard-fought negotiations, it sets new industry standards, not only for Australia, but around the world.

“The introduction of 20 days paid domestic violence leave is a significant victory that will reduce the financial hardship suffered by people dealing with the challenges of violence in the home.

“Nothing in this agreement was handed to us. It took three years of unwavering determination and united action from members at the Sydney and Brisbane terminals to achieve this victory," Mr smith said.

“These negotiations were among the hardest ever seen in our industry, with new claims from management threatening to derail discussions right until the end, but despite all these obstacles we have managed to achieve a ground-breaking agreement.

“We could not have achieved this outcome without the sacrifices of MUA members who were united in exercising their lawful right to undertake industrial action in defence of a fair agreement.

“Nothing was given to us for free, and while negotiators spent countless hours working towards this outcome it was made possible by the efforts of every rank and file member at Hutchison.”

ends

MARITIME workers will tomorrow protest against a decision by Australia’s largest towage operator, Svitzer Australia, to replace local tug crews at the Port of Geelong with fly-in fly-out labour hire workers.

Geelong workers who were made redundant by Svitzer in December last year will be joined by supporters from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) to demand that local workers be given their jobs back rather than be replaced by a labour hire contractor.

The 18 workers who lost their jobs were shocked to discover that just six months after Svitzer told them it was departing the Port of Geelong, the company has contracted Strategic Workforce Solutions to use fly-in fly-out workers to restart marine towage services at the port.

MUA Deputy Victorian Branch secretary David Ball said it was outrageous that the largest operator of towage services in Australia, with a fleet of more than 100 tugs at 28 ports, was stripping jobs out of the Geelong community.

“Svitzer Australia tossed 18 local workers on the scrap heap just before Christmas, telling them they were abandoning the Port of Geelong,” Mr Ball said.

“Just six months later, we discovered that the company plans to restart operations using fly-in fly-out labour hire workers rather than providing jobs to the local community.

“It appears Svitzer never really intended to leave Geelong, they just manufactured this arrangement where they could terminate their entire local workforce and use a sham contracting arrangement with a labour hire company that has no experience in maritime towage to slash costs.

“Geelong is being robbed by this multinational company who wants to profit from providing towage services at our port, but not provide any jobs or economic benefits to our local community.

“The union has repeatedly attempted to negotiate with Svitzer to find a way to allow their viable reentry into Geelong, but the company refuses to work with the union.

“Svitzer has also refused to reinstate the workers they made redundant, despite these former tug crews being the most experienced people for the job, with exceptional knowledge of how to safely and efficiently undertake tug operations at the Port of Geelong.”

ends