Workers strike at Australia's Gladstone port

Market: Coking coal, Metals
17/12/24

Union members are engaging in a day-long work stoppage at Queensland's Port of Gladstone today, as port strikes spread across Australia.

Gladstone Ports is "experiencing impact to some Port operations due to union-led protected industrial action," a company spokesperson confirmed to Argus. "GPC has been engaged in contingency planning and is liaising with customers to minimise operational impacts while prioritising safety," the representative said.

Five unions, representing hundreds of GPC workers, voted to authorise a range of strike actions, including unlimited work stoppages, last week. The current day-long stoppage does not involve all five of those unions, although the non-participating unions may engage in industrial actions over the coming days.

The port of Gladstone is a major coal and LNG hub. Queensland exporters shipped 63.7mn t of coal and 23mn t of LNG out of the port in 2023, supporting the state's resource sectors.

The Gladstone stoppage comes alongside day-long work stoppages at operator Qube's ports across Australia that began on 16 December. Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) workers last week decided that they would launch 24-hour stoppages at the ports of Kembla, Brisbane, and Darwin, on 16 December. These ports tend to handle grains, livestock, petroleum, and coal shipments.

Qube is also expecting the MUA to shortly launch industrial actions at the ports of Dampier, Freemantle, Port Hedland, Bunbury, Geraldton, and Whyalla. The company's Port Hedland and Dampier facilities play a major role in supporting Western Australia's mineral sector, handling iron mined by most of the state's major miners.

Union and GPC negotiators have been locked in discussions over the GPC Enterprise Agreement for months, unable to agree on wage and rostering proposals. Qube and the MUA similarly disagree over wage and employment condition proposals.

By Avinash Govind

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