Workers at the Port Kembla Coal Terminal (PKCT) have been locked out again amid an ongoing industrial dispute between the company and union members.
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The lockout is the third this year and shows a continuation of the company’s hard-line approach to negotiations over a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA).
South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said PKCT workers awoke on Friday to the news that “yet again their employer has decided to lock them out of their own workplaces”.
“This is increasingly becoming normal activity for corporate Australia. If they don’t get their way and they can’t slash the incomes of their workers any other way, they lock them out of their workplace,” Mr Rorris said.
The labour council boss also took a no-holds-barred approach to send the company – and any “unsuspecting workers” being encouraged to “do the dirty work of this company” – a message.
“If anyone is approached anywhere around the country to do work at Port Kembla Coal Terminal, we urge them to say ‘no’,” he said.
Friday’s lockout follows one in early January, when workers where shut out for four days, and another last month.
Workers started a series of industrial action at PKCT before Christmas.
The action is taking place as a new EBA is negotiated. PKCT – which is owned and operated by mining companies South 32, Glencore, Peabody Energy, Centennial Coal and Wollongong Coal – has applied to have the existing agreement terminated.
A PKCT spokeswoman said the company had taken “employer response action” from 2.30pm on Thursday until 7am on Monday.
“PKCT has taken steps to ensure operations can continue safely,” the spokeswoman said.
“A team of professionals is operating the terminal to ensure the safe delivery of products by rail and road, to load the ship at berth for a customer and to keep the Illawarra exporting.
“There is so much at stake for the Port Kembla Coal Terminal – no one wins when industrial action is taken.”
The CFMEU had taken a number of protected industrial actions since Monday – including bans on shiploading of coal from nominated shippers, as well as a ban on paperwork, computer use and computer-based communication such as email and instant messaging – the spokeswoman said.