Vessels in Australian Ports Must Vacate Before the Looming Lockout

Because of required lockout on Switzer’s harbor towage crews, Inchcape Shipping Services said vessels going to different parts of the world will be needed to leave Newcastle, Australia. All vessels that require tug assistance need to be in all aspects at the port by 11am on November 17 in order to depart co-ordinated departures throughout Thursday and Friday morning.

Svitzer will not tow vessels, of any size, into or out of the 17 Australian ports it operates in from noon on Friday 18 November 2022. Inchcape Group also advised if “there are any plans to restrict access to certain ports in the next couple of days,” that a definite indication will be given by means of newspaper advertisement.

Due to a lack of tugboats available, the Port of Newcastle is restricting the number of inbound vessels this week. Some vessels may need to wait until next week before entering port due to the urgency and uncertainty of them reaching their destination.

Svitzer workers are currently considering a lockout from their employer. The FairWork Commission has the ability to end their protected industrial action for things that would bring damage to Australia’s economy, with hearings set to continue on November 17.

Moving forward, we can now confidently say that the state of the relationship between Svitzer Australia, the MUA and AIMPE is now public knowledge. The company has given notice of a lockout, beginning December 1st and extending through to early 2020.

Svitzer said the lockout will begin at 12:00 pm (AEDT) on November 18 and run indefinitely.

To protect our ability to serve our shipping customers and reduce disruption to the national supply chain, Svitzer is taking this step.

To be a top healthcare provider, you need to take industrial action seriously at all times. Svitzer has been negotiating this contract since 2019 and has seen over 1100 instances of notified industrial action since October 2020.

When the unions engaged in a large-scale strike, we were surprised. Some came with real threats of bringing the company down, but luckily for everyone involved, we saw no other option but to respond with action and see it through.

The president of the Musicians Union of Ireland, Paddy Crumlin, called Switzer’s lockout “supply chain sabotage.”

Thanks to the commitment of Svitzer employees, the maritime company has had a successful tenure in Australia. The workers have contributed to revenue for stress-free transport and made significant contributions in life-saving events.

Three Svitzer representatives have come to negotiations with sudden and unreasonable demands that they know will derail the negotiation process. Sometimes, these demands are delivered without warning or rationale.