It is the latest chapter in an ongoing industrial dispute between the PKCT and its workforce, who have been at loggerheads over unresolved employment issues in a new enterprise agreement.

In December, PKCT workers walked off the job – and took rolling industrial action over the Christmas period – in a fight to protect permanent employees from being replaced by casual contractors.

At the time, Bob Timbs – from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) – said PKCT had been stalling in negotiations, which have been running for almost four years.

The key sticking point, according to the union, is the company’s “insistence on removing a clause that would protect current permanent workers being replaced by casual contractors”.

On Sunday, Mr Timbs said while the union had shifted considerably during negotiations in many areas, there was no room for movement on this point.

“Without this clause, permanent employees can be sacked at any moment and replaced with casual contractors,” he said.

“But the people of this region are fed up with big coal companies replacing good, permanent jobs with casualised labour hire. It’s greedy and it’s unnecessary.”

Mr Timbs said there was “no sense in signing a deal that hands management a big axe and a license to swing it at will”.

“Workers at Port Kembla Coal Terminal have had enough and they’re standing up. We will fight this until an acceptable position is reached.”

In a statement issued to the Mercury, PKCT said it had “reaffirmed its commitment to providing above award conditions to its permanent workforce by ensuring its business remains sustainable and competitive, to the benefit of the Illawarra economy”.

“PKCT were notified of the intentions of these employees to take seven days of one-hour on, one-hour off stoppages that will effectively prevent PKCT from safely and efficiently receiving coal and loading it onto its customers’ ships.

“Those employees taking part in the industrial action will not attend work during this time in order to allow PKCT to fulfill contractual obligations to its customers and to the ongoing economic well-being of the community.”

The statement also said that PKCT “continues to negotiate, in good faith, with its employees and the CFMEU”. 

PKCT is owned and operated by mining companies South 32, Glencore, Peabody Energy, Centennial Coal and Wollongong Coal.

Read more: Port Kembla Coal Terminal workers walk off the job