Update: Industrial action extended to 22 January at DP World terminals in Australia

The union plans further bans and stoppages affecting land and waterside container movements

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Update: 09.01.2024

The Maritime Union of Australia has extended its industrial action at all DP World Terminals until 22 January 2024, including 2-8 hour work bans and 24-hour stoppages on the loading and unloading of trucks and trains.

A full list of planned actions can be found here. Our Kuehne+Nagel advisory can be found here.

Update: 29.12.2023

The Maritime Union of Australia has extended its industrial action at all DP World Terminals until 8 January 2024.

The union banned workers from taking overtime and shift extensions and from performing loading and unloading operations of trucks and trains in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle terminals.

The latest strike extension will affect operations as follows:

DP World Sydney: 2 to 8-hour work stoppages between 18 December and 8 January (inclusive). A full 24-hour receival and delivery stoppage is planned from 5 January 6:00 am am to 6 January 6:00 am.
DP World Melbourne: 2-8 hour stoppages between 18 December and 8 January (inclusive). From 2 to 5 January, 4-hour receival and delivery stoppages are planned from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm each day.
DP World Brisbane: 2-8 hour stoppages between 18 December and 8 January (inclusive). A full 24-hour receival and delivery stoppage is planned from 2 January 7:00 am am to 3 January 7:00 am.
DP World Fremantle: 2-8 hour stoppages between 18 December and 8 January (inclusive).

Kuehne+Nagel continues to closely monitor the situation. Should you require assistance with your shipment, please do not hesitate to contact your local Kuehne + Nagel representative.

For more details on the situation, refer to our in-depth Kuehne+Nagel assessment.

Update: 13.12.2023

The Freight and Trade Alliance (FTA) has communicated additional strike announcements by the Maritime Union of Australia, which will extend to 23 December.

This extension comes after the conclusion of almost a week of facilitated bargaining sessions under the watch of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) on 9 December.

On that day, DP World filed for a 90-day cooling-off period to halt further industrial action at its terminals in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Fremantle. However, local media reports this has since been rejected by the FWC.

In a statement released today, the MAU points to the lack of commitment from the port operator to reach an in-principle agreement during the bargaining sessions and its unavailability for further negotiations before 29 January 2024.

Kuehne+Nagel continues to monitor the situation closely to mitigate delays to affected cargo. Should you have any questions, please refer to our recent update or contact your local Kuehne + Nagel representative.

Update: 04.12.2023

Workers at DP World terminals will stage a 48-hour strike tomorrow, 5 December, at the ports of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle.

Despite this planned action, the Maritime Union of Australia called on its members to extend the industrial action another week to Tuesday, 18 December.

DP World, which has nearly 40% market share in Australia's ports, said in an advisory published last week that the strikes are "having a profound impact on small and medium-sized enterprises in Australia."

According to Australian newspaper The Age, a DP World spokesman said there was "a backlog of just over 50,000 containers due to the union's ongoing industrial action."

The newspaper added that the operator warned the prolonged disruptions at the ports could put the "festive spirit" and economic stability at risk if the dispute isn't settled by early December.

While the latest round of negotiations is due to conclude by 9 December, experts say it is unlikely the two parties will reach an agreement this month.

On the other hand, the union claims DP World is "deliberately" stalling the process of reaching a deal.

For nearly two months, the dockworkers on strike have been calling for wage increases and a safer work environment at the terminals.

Update: 29.11.2023

The industrial action carried out by DP World Terminal workers in Australia is yet to be successful.

This week, the strikes at the ports - which started on 6 October - were extended for the eighth time. The new potential end date of the strikes is now 11 December 2023.

According to a new Kuehne+Nagel update, the union banned workers from taking overtime and shift extensions and from performing loading and unloading operations for trucks and trains in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle terminals.

Additionally, work stoppages ranging from 1 hour to 48 hours are expected during the strike period. A 48-hour stoppage will start at 6:00 am on 5 December in all of the ports simultaneously.

From its side, DP World acknowledges the impact of these strikes on importers and exporters.

Transport providers have been experiencing challenges with securing slots in DP World's booking system to enable pick up and delivery of containers. This is resulting in extended delays impacting delivery schedules.

Kuehne+Nagel continues to monitor the situation closely. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact your local Kuehne + Nagel representative if you have any questions in relation to the above matter.

Update: 23.11.2023

Operations at DP World Terminals across Australia will continue to be disrupted into December.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has communicated further bans and stoppages as follows :

DP World Sydney: 1 to 24-hour work stoppages between 27 November and 4 December (inclusive). A full 24-hour stoppage is planned on Monday, 27 November, commencing at 6:00 am.
DP World Melbourne: 2-8 hour stoppages between 27 November and 4 December (inclusive).
DP World Brisbane: 2-8 hour stoppages between 27 November and 4 December (inclusive). A full 24-hour stoppage is planned on Saturday, 2 December, commencing at 6:00 am.
DP World Fremantle: 2-8 hour stoppages between 27 November and 4 December (inclusive).

In its latest advisory, Kuehne+Nagel Australia points out trucking challenges resulting from the work bans and stoppages which began in early October.

According to the advisory, transporters voice their difficulty in securing booking slots for container transport and are experiencing significant delays and long turnaround times at these terminals.

"Our transport partners remain committed to minimising the disruption caused by the ongoing industrial action, therefore, they will continue with scheduling additional shifts during the week and weekend in order to avoid import containers incurring terminal storage, as well as ensuring export containers are gated in within the vessel receival window."

Additional terminal closures

According to a notice from the Freight and Trade Alliance, members of the MUA have authorised stop-work to allow for member's attendance at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, 28 November. As listed below, some terminals have already announced closures, while others are yet to be confirmed.

DP World

Sydney: 10:00 am until 2:00 pm
Melbourne: TBC
Brisbane: 7:00 am until 11:00 am
Fremantle: TBC

Patrick Terminals

Sydney: 6.00 am until 2.00 pm
Melbourne: 10.00 am until 2.00 pm
Brisbane: 7.00 am until 11.00 pm (stop work period also includes system maintenance)
Fremantle: 9.00 am until 1.00 pm

Hutchison Ports

Sydney: 10:00 am until 2:00 pm
Brisbane: 07:00 am until 11:00am

Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT)

Melbourne: Road operations between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm will cease

(In addition, 24-hour landside closure commences at 6.00 am Saturday, 25 November, for critical system maintenance at VICT.)

Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal

Adelaide: 4-Hour stop work Meeting - No VBS slots past 0900hrs. All operations will recommence from 2:00 pm.

Further closures will be updated on Sea News as they are announced. For questions about your shipment, do not hesitate to contact your Kuehne+Nagel representative.

Update: 16.11.2023

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has extended its labour action at DP World Terminals across the continent until 27 November.

Various bans which began in early October will continue towards the end of this month, primarily affecting loading and unloading of trucks and trains as well as overtime and shift extensions. However other terminal operations may also be affected.

In its latest advisory, Kuehen+Nagel Austalia reports additional planned work stoppages as follows:

DP World Sydney: 1 to 24 hour work stoppages between 16 November and 27 November (inclusive). A full 24-hour stoppage is planned on Friday, 24 November, commencing at 6:00 am.
DP World Melbourne: 2-8 hour stoppages between 16 and 27 November (inclusive).
DP World Brisbane: 2-8 hour stoppages between 16 and 27 November (inclusive).
DP World Fremantle: 2-8 hour stoppages between 16 and 27 November (inclusive).

The recent cyber-attack which affected landside operations has exacerbated terminal congestion and shortage of slot bookings.

According to reports from truckers, changes in vessel schedules and infrastructure work is also impacting container deliveries and pick-ups.

For questions about your shipment, do not hesitate to contact your Kuehne+Nagel representative.

Update: 08.11.2023

A new update shared by Kuehne+Nagel Australia reveals that the disruption at DP World Terminals in Australia was extended again for another week.

The bans on overtime and shift extensions, which started on 7 October, will now remain until 20 November. Several work stoppages were also carried out during the strike period, and new ones were announced at several ports as follows:

DP World Sydney: 1-hour to 24-hour stoppages between 14 and 20 November. A full 24-hour stoppage is planned on Friday, 17 November, commencing at 6:00 am.
DP World Melbourne: 2-8 hour stoppages between 14 and 20 November (inclusive).
DP World Brisbane: 2-8 hour stoppages between 14 and 20 November (inclusive).
DP World Fremantle: 2-8 hour stoppages between 14 and 20 November (inclusive).

A social media post by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) highlighted that the union will continue to "fight for a fair pay deal from Dubai Ports."

"We generate the profits, achieve the productivity, provide the flexibility and perform the work," said the union.

"It's only fair for us to expect that the Australian managers will respect their workforce, pay us properly, provide us with long-term job security, and guarantee our safety on the job."

Update: 02.11.2023

The lack of an agreement between the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and DP World is leading to further extension to the labour action currently undertaken by workers in Australia's ports.

As reported earlier, the disruptions mainly concern overtime and shift extensions; however, other areas of terminal operations may also be affected.

A new Kuehne+Nagel update reveals that the strikes have now been extended to 13 November.

In addition to bans on overtime and shift extension, some ports plan work stoppages on separate occasions. Here is a summary for each port:

DP World Sydney: 1-hour to 24-hour stoppages between 1 and 13 November. A full 24-hour stoppage is planned for Monday, 6 November, commencing at 6:00 am.
DP World Melbourne: 2-8 hour stoppages between 1 and 13 November (inclusive).
DP World Brisbane: 2-8 hour stoppages between 18 December and 8 January (inclusive). A full 24-hour stoppage is planned for Monday, 6 November, commencing at 6:00 am.
DP World Fremantle: 2-8 hour stoppages between 1 and 13 November (inclusive).

For questions about your shipment, do not hesitate to contact your Kuehne+Nagel representative.

Original article: 26.10.2023

Members of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) escalated their strikes at DP World terminals this week and decided to extend the labour action to 6 November.

In addition to extending the period of the strikes, the MUA included bans on loading and unloading containers on trucks. "The 24-hour trucking bans, starting on Friday in Sydney and then at all terminals next Friday, is a significant escalation of action," The Australian Financial Review said on Tuesday.

On 24 October, the union announced it was "raising the struggle" at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle ports. The union called on the port operator to return to the bargaining table and "deliver a fair wage outcome for their workers that keeps pace with inflation and with industry benchmarks."

DP World said in a statement that the strikes extended vessel offloading operations to seven to eight days, reports the Financial Review. "The disruption and delays in the supply chain caused by the [protected industrial action] will create an unsettling impact for the upcoming holiday preparations," added the statement.

The following is a brief overview of the planned industrial action in each port:

Brisbane Port: overtime and shift extension bans will be extended to 6 November. The workers will also start a series of 8-hour work stoppages beginning on 30 October.
Sydney Port: overtime and shift extension bans will be extended to 6 November. The workers will also start a series of 1-hour to 24-hour work stoppages beginning on 30 October. A full 24-hour stoppage will occur on Monday, 30 October, commencing at 6.00 a.m.
Melbourne Port: overtime and shift extension bans will be extended to 6 November. The workers will also start a series of 2-hour to 8-hour work stoppages beginning on 30 October.
Fremantle Port: overtime and shift extension bans will be extended to 6 November. The workers will also start a series of 2-hour to 8-hour work stoppages beginning on 30 October.