Today in Geelong, workers at one of Australia’s biggest bulk fuel suppliers have escalated industrial action in protest of management’s attempts to slash wages during a cost-of-living crisis.
Quantem workers and members of the United Workers’ Union, who commenced protected action in the form of indefinite overtime bans on Saturday 8 June, will now escalate to a series of work stopages and slow the unloading of liquids from ships by 50 percent in the face of continued aggression from management, beginning this Saturday 15 June.
Union members have been bargaining with Quantem in good faith and were seeking to maintain current conditions and a modest inflation-aligned pay rise. In response, management tabled an agreement which would see each worker worse off by up to $33,000 per year in wages and superannuation.
United Workers’ Union executive director Godfrey Moase said Quantem’s actions were some of the most egregious he had encountered.
“These workers entered negotiations actively looking to help Quantem find cost savings by improving productivity and taking on additional work that is currently outsourced to a third-party at greater expense. Quantem on the other hand, walked into the room, set the nuclear option on the table and hit the red button,” Mr Moase said.
“This work is specialised, extremely dangerous and provides critical fuel to Tullamarine Airport, Australia’s second largest airport. It’s pretty irresponsible to its customers, but also to the traveling public to punish the workers who do such vital and important work.”
Mr Moase said Quantem’s actions were extreme and had potential implications on the fuel supply chain, particularly as union members were resolved in escalating industrial action until Quantem stopped playing so dirty.
Quantem operates bulk liquids shipping and distribution infrastructure in every major Australian port. Bargaining is also underway in Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia.
“We are really concerned that Quantem is going to pursue this same unhinged approach nationally and that this dispute is going to spiral out of control,” he said.