International shipowners and shipping lines have warned governments around the country that protected industrial action by the MUA targeting individual ships could halt the flow of vital goods and threaten businesses and jobs in the logistics sector.
In crucial ruling that "ameliorates" the effect of the High Court's Esso ruling, a union that faced having its proposed industrial action rendered unprotected when it didn't fully comply with a court order has won a full Federal Court finding that it can be retrospectively revoked.
The Federal Court has today ordered the AWU to pay an $18,000 penalty for pressing charges under its rules against two members who refused to support industrial action against Orica.
The FWC has issued a s418 order to stop 31 individual Orora Packaging employees taking unprotected industrial action in the form of "coordinated" personal leave that has shut down production lines.
An employer has failed to convince the FWC that suspending industrial action would improve the chances of reaching agreement before the business is transferred to a new owner.
The MUA claims to have seen off the threat of further automation and outsourcing at DP World Australia under a proposed new national enterprise agreement.
The FWC has dismissed DP World's application for orders to halt an alleged "go slow" at its Melbourne container terminal, citing concerns over the statistical evidence tendered by the stevedore.
An employer has been labelled "disingenuous" and a union told it could struggle to explain its interest to members in the "curious" case of employees not paid for work performed when they returned to their jobs before the end of a protected strike.
About 1800 waterfront workers have today begun a campaign of rolling strikes at DP World container terminals across Australia this week, after the MUA and stevedore failed to reach agreement on a new enterprise deal.
