DP World has told a Senate hearing into the remaining Loopholes measures that the stevedoring industry should be shielded from protracted bargaining conflicts, warning that multi-employer bargaining could cripple ports.
The FWC has refused to grant Ventia an intractable bargaining declaration it sought after workers at outsourced Defence aviation firefighting operations in Queensland rejected its unilateral offer, in the tribunal's first contested IBD case determined by a single member.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has criticised stevedore DP World for "relying on ministerial intervention" to resolve its bargaining dispute with the MUA, saying he told the company today he has no intention to take such a step.
Container terminal operator DP World's refusal to bargain while MUA members take protected action has contributed to a FWC finding that it would not be in the public interest to suspend it for a 90-day "cooling off" period.
The TWU is asking the FWC to hear in tandem its separate bids for intractable bargaining declaration bids at two Cleanaway Waste Management sites, but the company has no truck with that view, saying the context at each location is "very different".
The MUA says that progress has been made during the first two days of a scheduled six straight days of talks with container terminal operator DP World, in a bid to break deadlocked negotiations for a new enterprise agreement.
The FWC has reserved its decision on the first contested intractable bargaining case to be heard by a single member, after service provider Ventia told the tribunal it should find negotiations for outsourced Defence aviation firefighting operations in Queensland have reached an impasse after 15 months of talks and more than 18 months of industrial action.
After chairing negotiations between resources giant Esso and the AWU, long-serving FWC member Bernie Riordan has today issued a recommendation that the company provide a 22% pay rise over almost four years to end a decade-long deadlock for its Bass Strait platform operators and that in return the workforce move to a new roster.
Employers are using the new intractable bargaining declaration provisions to undercut pay and conditions by trying to revisit agreed terms, which is inconsistent with the legislation's aim of breaking bargaining deadlocks, United Firefighters Union national secretary Peter Marshall told the Loopholes inquiry this morning.
Biotechnology giant CSL has made a rare application for bargaining orders against two maintenance unions, the ETU and AMWU, whose members voted up protected action ballots in September.
