The MUA has decided to lift its industrial action against Patrick Stevedores and can expect the terminals in Brisbane, Sydney, and Fremantle to be fully back at work by 1500hrs on 27th May 2011.
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Australian stevedoring company Patrick has welcomed the eleventh hour decision by the Maritime
Union of Australia (MUA) to lift its industrial action at Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle container terminals but says that the parties are no closer to a resolution of this matter.
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Patrick Director Paul Garaty says that the MUA’s decision to lift the bans does not change the
fundamental issues behind the MUA’s claims. “We are pleased that the Union has recognised what they were doing to the importers and exporters of Australia. These people have suffered enough at the hands of natural disasters without now having to suffer at the hands of the MUA.
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“Having held the importers and exporters in this country to ransom it appears the Union want to be thought of as heroes for removing their own industrial action. Make no mistake, unless the MUA removes the threat of further industrial action, it will continue to call strikes which hurts not only your business, but also the hundreds of small businesses, farmers, truckers and retailers who are already voicing their concerns.
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“The Union should guarantee all Australians that it will take no further strikes, bans or limitations of any kind in their pursuit of an unsustainable wage increase and other demands from the Compan
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“It is ironic that the Union has withdrawn its industrial action at a time when the validity of that action would have been tested in Fair Work Australia. The Union will now return to work on the weekend and make up much of its lost pay on overtime.
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“As part of the negotiations Patrick has offered an increase of fifteen percent over the life of the agreement – which equates to a five percent increase each and every year for three years with an in-built productivity component to balance wage increases with improvements in productivity consistent with the premise of the Fair Work Act,†he said.
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Patrick will continue to work within the Fair Work process and continues to offer to the Union the opportunity to enter into voluntary conciliation to reach agreement.
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