The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) reached a deal with Victoria International Container Terminal in Melbourne for the partial reinstatement of a union member who was terminated in November, ending a three-week picket line that blocked the gates and trapped millions of dollars in cargo on the pier.
The terminal said that it denied employee Richard Lunt access to future work because of the details of an alleged criminal record and his alleged inability to get a security clearance. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) – a global union alliance that counts MUA among its members – denied that Lunt was ineligible and said that he obtained the required clearance certificate on December 8.
However, under the terms of the deal struck Friday, he may not necessarily need the clearance: Lunt will receive wages, pending the outcome of a court case over his dismissial, but he will not be expected to enter the terminal. In return for the reinstatement of Lunt’s pay, MUA “expects that the ongoing community protest at Webb Dock will end some time [Friday],” said ITF director Paddy Crumlin.
VICT is operated by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), a Philippines-based company that is the target of a global campaign by the ITF over alleged anti-union policies.
