A small business owner has warned his company could soon collapse if an industrial dispute at Australia’s biggest ports continues to cause costly delays and supply chain disruptions.
His “desperate” plea for an end to the standoff came after the industrial relations minister, Tony Burke, confirmed he would meet with the stevedore DP World, which is part-owned by the Dubai government.
Graham Lock, who runs a biodegradable napkin business in Melbourne, said his company had only just recovered from the pandemic and was now struggling to cope with months of delayed imports.
Lock expected stock worth $45,000 to arrive at the Brisbane port in mid-November, leaving time to fulfil Christmas orders. He said the products remained stuck on a cargo ship off the Sunshine Coast, having also been delayed in Melbourne and Sydney.
“It cannot dock as the dispute between DP World and the Maritime Union of Australia now appears to be escalating,” Lock said. “We don’t turn over millions of dollars each year. At this stage, it’s around half a million dollars, so this is having a major impact on us.”
Many workers at DP World have engaged in protected industrial action since 1 October, arguing the company is attempting to slash penalty rates. The action includes declining to work overtime and limited stop-work orders, as the union seeks a 16% pay increase over two years.
The stevedore, which is responsible for about 40% of container freight, has cited a backlog of almost 44,000 containers that could take months to clear. Independent supply chain experts warn this could have a significant impact on the economy and businesses that cannot meet orders.
Lock said he was speaking with his distributors each day and trying to preserve other orders.
“I can’t give them any honest answers on when I can assist them,” he said. “There needs to be some way of resolving this. I am not saying the workers do not deserve an increase, but to create this impact restricting imports really is going to have a major flow-on effect.
“I am concerned about the future of my business and livelihood, but also concerned about the impact this is silently having on our economy.”
Burke will meet with DP World on Thursday, although he is not expected to intervene in the dispute or cancel industrial action. The company has been urging the federal government to intervene.
Anthony Albanese has urged DP World and the union to sort out the dispute.
“This is a company that of course is based in Dubai that’s made considerable profits, and certainly there should be a mutually beneficial outcome, and I’d urge both parties to organise in good faith and to get this done,” the prime minister told 2SM radio.
Blake Tierney, senior director at DP World Oceania, said the company was engaging constructively in negotiations.
“This is clearly an issue of national significance and we need a circuit-breaker so trade can go back to normal for the benefit of Australian consumers and businesses,” he said in a statement.
The Maritime Union of Australia has been contacted for comment.
The secretary of the ACTU, Sally McManus, said DP World was “forcing the hand of workers” and wanted the government to intervene and back the stevedore.
“The company is deliberately, in our view, not moving, because they want to whip up a crisis so they can get the government – or try to get the government –to intervene so they don’t have to pay the workers more,” she told ABC TV.
On Friday, the Fair Work Commission ruled DP World’s employees could walk off the job for 16 hours, provided their union gives DP World five days’ notice.
