Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Maritime Union of Australia members, particularly those who work for Svitzer, many of whom were about to suffer the indignity of being locked out of 17 ports throughout Australia during the holiday period, all for the offence of wanting to end a pre-pandemic wage freeze in a time when real wages are going down and were expecting management to bargain in good faith. Unfortunately, Svitzer were not willing to do the latter and made every effort to drag their heels to prevent the former. Good faith is not how one would describe Svitzer, who even started to docking workers' pay before the now doomed lockout was yet to begin.

These workers operates tugboats that help to keep this country moving, helping to bring ashore many a Christmas present through the months ahead. Svitzer is a company that has reaped in pandemic profits, while the pay of its workers remains at pre-pandemic levels. Thankfully, the federal government intervened in the matter, and late last week the Fair Work Commission blocked the lockout from occurring, sending a clear message that the economic vandalism needs to stop. As a former seafarer myself, I can attest that working at sea is not an easy job, especially with the conditions you often face. In a year marking the MUA's 150th anniversary, I'm glad they now have a government in the corner, one that sees their interests aligning with the national interest.