Patrick Stevedores has won a long-running battle against the Maritime Union of Australia over the automation of Sydney's Port Botany.
The Fair Work Commission rejected the union's calls for arbitration and applauded the ports operator for consulting with wharfies, reported The Australian Financial Review.
Fair Work Commission deputy president Peter Sams said the Patrick decision to reduce the number of proposed job cuts at Port Botany by 17 positions and make other changes to its initial automation plan showed the ports operator was "not merely paying 'lip service' to consultation".
"I do not believe it could be seriously argued that Patrick has not fulfilled its obligations to properly consult with the union and the employees and take their views into account," Sams said.
Asciano, which owns Patrick, said it was pleased with the decision. "The outcome recognises the robust consultation process we have undertaken with our employees and the detailed labour-selection criteria models we have put in place," a spokesperson said.
"The redevelopment of our Port Botany container terminal is a critical part of our ports growth strategy in which we are significantly upgrading old infrastructure, cranes, machinery and amenities, to transform it into a world class and internationally competitive facility."
The MUA did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
It had argued Patrick had breached its requirement to consult over major workplace change, as required by its enterprise agreement, after the company decided to automate its Port Botany operations in July 2012.
Asciano initially proposed to cut 270 jobs from Port Botany's 511-strong workforce by the middle of this year after introducing 44 new unmanned machines called AutoStrads. The automation process has subsequently been delayed into next year after 30 of the AutoStrads were damaged during shipment to Australia from Europe.
The MUA was furious it was given no warning of the automation plans, despite having spent nearly a year negotiating a new enterprise agreement with Patrick that included commitments to lift productivity.
The union filed a dispute in October 2012, arguing Patrick had breached its enterprise agreement because it had not provided enough information about the automation process, had not considered the views of wharfies, and had not given enough notice of the proposed changes. The union also argued Patrick was making too many redundant, and would not be able to operate Port Botany with its projected numbers.
Patrick agreed to revise its proposed labour model, and hold a list of redundant employees for 12 months and give them priority in re-employment if it needed to hire more people.
Sams found Patrick's offer for a 12-month list to be "fair and reasonable" and criticised a review of Patrick's labour model by Paul Ward, director of consultancy group Changedrivers, which was hired by the union, as "fundamentally flawed".
Ward had relied almost exclusively on what the union and its delegates had told him, Sams said.
"Ward's brief was so biased and overwhelmingly weighted towards the union's views, that his report is at worst meaningless and at best, subjectively selective." It was not in Patrick's interests to undermine its operations at Port Botany by making "savage and unrealistic cuts" to its labour force, Sams said. "It simply does not align with good business sense, let alone common sense, to do so."
Key points Fair Work Commission rejected union's calls for arbitration. Patrick Stevedores plans to reduce the number of proposed job cuts at Port Botany by 17 positions and make other changes to its initial automation plan.
-
Company DirectoryFreight RateExport RateAgency PartnershipCargo Leads