16 | With 2023 drawing to a close, here’s a site-by- site summary of what’s happened, what hasn’t happened, and what’s going on for Albany and Esperance members as we step into 2024… REGIONAL RAP!
can see an effectively unified group moving through 2024 for the benefit of all union members at the site. And just for a Christmas present, we should also finally see a new enterprise agreement including some pretty significant improvements to working conditions. We also have a commitment from LINX to begin picking up some ABS labour to work the fertilizer vessels before the year closes out as the start of the transition back to predominantly utilising ABS labour for this work. Assuming LINX actually deliv- ers on their promise this time, it will only have taken the best part of a decade for them to make good on their word. If they don ’ t renege again, it ’ ll just be one more present from Santa that will genuinely benefit all union members in Albany. Ho, ho, ho …. . SVITZER After an horrific start to the year courtesy of the col- lective pack of shameless arseholes that operates under the Svitzer logo, it seems to be relatively “all quiet on the western front” for our members on the tugs in Albany since the EA was implemented in the middle of the year. There’s been a couple of niggles (probably primarily driven from the east coast) in- volving the ludicrous misinterpretation of what con- stitutes “training” (just as an example), but other- wise it seems the focus has shifted back to providing a service to clients – something our members pride themselves on despite their employer’s apparent fascination with self-harm. You don’t just recover from the type of bastardry this company threw at their workforce though, with- out some lingering mistrust. And there’s definitely a sense of “Is this just the calm before the storm?” persisting at the back of all Svitzer employees’ minds around the country. When the dedication and loy- alty of workers is repaid with threats and thuggery by their employer, it can take long years to rebuild trust. You can’t blame Svitzer employees if they never trust their grubby employer again.
SOUTHERN PORTS ALBANY MAINTENANCE & OPERATIONS
It ’ s a shame we ’ re not negotiating with a brick wall, we ’ d get more reaction than we ’ re getting from SPA . LINX ALBANY BULK HANDLING 2023 has been the first year with Mark Jones in the driving seat at the ABH facility. By all accounts, things seem to have calmed down considerably. There’s another year left on the current EA but we’re already discussing what the priorities need to be when we get to the bargaining table. The strat- egy agreed with LINX to “gradually” close the gap between the wages of these employees compared with the rest of the business has plodded along at a pretty conservative pace over the course of the last couple of enterprise agreements. With LINX now up for sale, the members are keen to bring that all to a head, rip the band-aid off and just align the wages once and for all. Anywhere else within the business, these guys would qualify for Grade 6 stevedoring rates. The time has come to square that up… AUSTRALIAN BULK STEVEDORING (ABS) After a turbulent few months at this site earlier in the year, it seems that things are finally beginning to settle down at ABS in Albany. Hats off to the del- egates (Kevin Drage and Ryan Crowley) who have worked tirelessly at improving the workplace envi- ronment and ensuring everyone is treated fairly and equally. Still some way to go, but with the member- ship supporting them in their mission, it’s hoped we On a positive note, 2023 gave us the first full year with Paul McSweeney in the role of Albany Port Re- gional Manager. Unfortunately though, while his ap- proach has been a breath of fresh air in a workplace still dealing with PTSD from past experiences, he’s been hamstrung when it comes to translating that into anything tangible at the bargaining table dur- ing the process of negotiating a new Maintenance & Operations EA – just another victim of the SPA “medusa effect” (everything SPA looks at turns to stone). In the context of some of the other agreements cov- ering employees of SPA, I guess this group of mem- bers can’t complain – after all, their agreement only expired in August 2022! In an effort to buck the trend and hopefully initiate a pulse at SPA, these members tabled a settlement offer on October 19. Unfortunately though, we’re yet to receive a response to that offer.
Albany SOUTHERN PORTS ALBANY ADMINISTRATION Okay, this is probably not the best example of what “a big year” looks like. These SPA employees are living Ground Hog Day. This time last year, they were wait- ing for their employer to grace them with an enterprise agreement. I estimated we were one full, dedicated day of meeting away from this shit show being finalised. But here we are twelve months down the track and we’re still waiting. Not a single, solitary thing has changed in the past twelve months. This agreement was drafted and agreed by the parties almost five years ago, but things have stood still ever since. This is what progress looks like at Southern Ports. Layer over layer of bureaucracy to the point that nothing is able to happen!
Jeff Cassar - Assistant State Secretary Jeff.Cassar@mua.org.au 0417 568 115
SOUTHERN PORTS ALBANY PILOTS
If you thought I might have been exaggerating about SPA’s inability to do anything, maybe you should ask the Albany pilots… Their enterprise agree- ment expired on June 30 last year. Clause 4 of that agreement states, “The parties agree in good faith, to commence negotiations for the renewal of this Agreement at least three months prior to the nomi- nal expiry date” – but as we move into 2024, there hasn’t been a single bargaining meeting yet. If we had a meeting tomorrow, it would be nine months late. But let’s face it, we won’t be meeting tomor- row. My tip is we’ll have lost a full year before we even sit down to talk!
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