In July, MUA members held a memorial for their fellow longshore workers who were killed on the job.
After previously flatly rejecting safety concerns raised by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the union says Patrick Stevedores has agreed to return to the negotiating table.
MUA members at Webb Dock voted to return to work after management committed to put an offer in writing to the union before the end of this week.
MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin said Patrick’s backflip followed Fair Work Australia’s finding that the union has been genuinely trying to reach agreement.
“We have serious concerns about safety and training, we’re working within the letter and the spirit of the law, and we’re determined to deliver an outcome that helps build sustainable business outcomes while also building worker safety,” he said.
In a decision on the union’s application for protected action ballot orders released in Perth on January 31, Fair Work Australia Commissioner Cloghan stated: “The MUA has been, and is genuinely trying to reach an agreement with the employer.”
The decision also said: “It appears that on each occasion the employer states that it will provide an offer to the MUA and doesn’t, because of continuing industrial action, the MUA seeks a further type of protected industrial action it can introduce into the workplace.”