Workers have been locked out of Adelaide’s only shipping container terminal by stevedoring company DP World after striking on the weekend.
About 140 workers will be locked out of the Port Adelaide dockyard site for 24 hours.
The Maritime Union of Australia has been bargaining with DP World for eight months over pay and conditions and says it has reached an impasse.
MUA assistant national secretary Warren Smith says the union is not fazed by the company’s decision to cancel shifts today:
“It’s an extreme action but I don’t think it has a terribly significant effect on us at this stage. I think this may be a bit of an attempt to replicate what happened to Qantas and try and create the circumstances where bargaining is removed from the hands of the parties involved.
“We reject that entirely. We believe we can reach agreement and we’ll be meeting with DP World this week.”