MUA state secretary Chris Cain warned the workers were fed up and the dispute would quickly reignite if their demands were not resolved in the next four weeks. 'If we have to take protected action to make sure our workers go home nice and safe, we're going to do that,' he said. Picture by Nirme Marie of The Australian
The waterfront dispute which led to more than 150 wharfies locked out of West Australian ports by stevedoring company POAGS is over, for now.
The wharfies voted unanimously on Dec. 15 to suspend their industrial action for four weeks to allow conciliation to take place, and POAGS agreed to let them return to work.
The employer had taken the extreme step of flying in scab workers by helicopter.
POAGS, which is chaired by Chris Corrigan, used helicopters at Port Kembla to fly in non-union labour before the lockout ended there yesterday.
The company’s tactics were labelled “extreme” by federal Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten, who intervened yesterday, brokering the agreement for both parties to engage in a four-week conciliation process.