How other industries do things
EXCLUSIVE: MORE than 200 Port Melbourne wharfies will walk off the job in the first Australian docks strike since the 1998 waterfront dispute.
Union members will down tools from midnight on Thursday and establish a picket line at Web docks 3, 4 and 5 until Saturday.
The strike follows a breakdown in pay talks between stevedoring giant Asciano and maritime unions.
The arrival of two giant container ships from Europe late tomorrow night is expected to add to the drama.
Maritime Union of Australia state secretary Kevin Bracken said the walk-off was the culmination of two years of stalled negotiations.
“It's been two-and-a-half years since we've had a pay rise down there,'' Mr Bracken told the Herald Sun.
“It's protected industrial action, which legally we can do under legislation. We had talks yesterday and all they offered was 5 per cent for the next 18 months. And I don't think any union would be accepting that.''
Mr Bracken said it was unclear whether the strike would extend into the weekend or next week.
“We are available to talk in good faith and always have been. It's in their hands.
At VBA we havent had a pay rise for a while so we should be following the dock workers lead and not accepting what management have offered. The sign on bonus should have been a % increase in the first two years to the order of 8-10% in the first year to make up for no pay rises, 8-10% in the second year, and then maybe some restraint in the third year.
How about a real pay rise. The $2,500 "bribe" is shameful.
