Wharfies at Fremantle port will move to extend a 72-hour protected strike against Patrick Stevedore on behalf of casual workers.
The Maritime Union of Australia claims Patrick has refused to discuss increasing permanent staff or safety and training issues and was forced to decide on strike action after six months of negotiations on a new enterprise bargaining agreement.
MUA state secretary Chris Cain said 98 per cent of 200 workers had voted for the action last week.
More than 60 per cent of workers at Fremantle and more than 70 per cent at Albany worked on a casual basis, the MUA said. Some had been there for more than nine years, with minimum training, and still waited each day for a phone call from Patrick to find out when they would work next.