BRISBANE PORT: Brisbane port workers woke Friday morning to discover they had been sacked overnight, with Hutchison Ports Australia alerting them to the news via text message.
Hutchison Ports Australia, which operates as Brisbane Container Terminals in Queensland, sent out a message to more than 40 workers just before midnight, stating the worker had been sacked and there would be “no redeployment opportunities”.
“You are not required for your allocated shift, please disregard your most recent work orders, you are not required on shift until further notice,” the text message sent to 41 Brisbane workers said.
It pointed affected staff to an email which went into further detail. “The intended last day of your employment will be Friday 14 August 2015,” the email read.
“I realise that this is a lot of information to take in. Accordingly you are will (sic) not be required to attend work effective immediately. “We will of course pay you your normal salary to your last date of employment.”
The Maritime Union of Australia has rejected claims from the company that a lack of competitiveness is driving it to reduce its Australian workforce.
Nearly 100 workers were sacked in a similar fashion overnight, nationwide.
Maritime Union of Australia Queensland state secretary Bob Carnegie said he believed the company was attempting to de-unionise the ports and the remaining workers in Brisbane were staging a “sit-down occupation” in protest of the sackings.
Mr Carnegie said Hutchison had sacked the union’s senior delegates with plans to move towards an automated workforce. “We are prepared to fight these people,” he said.
“There will be nothing moving in the terminal and nothing will move in the terminal until they sit down and talk to us.”The union is attempting to seek a Federal Court injunction against the sackings. Hutchison Ports Australia has been contacted for comment.
