Qube Ports faces more strikes across Australia

Strikes at major Australian ports are set to continue in an ongoing dispute between unionised workers and Qube Ports over contract negotiations.

Work stoppages will take place in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Gladstone, Melbourne, and Port Kembla.

On Monday, union members went on strike at 10 ports around the country for a day, but they have been sporadically conducting lower-level industrial action throughout Australia since September. 

Upcoming industrial actions will affect ports handling bulk goods, including grains, steel, and machinery. Additionally, all participating port workers plan to stage eight-hour stoppages when vessels berth.

Qube’s major coal, grain, and fertiliser operation in Port Kembla in Wollongong is facing 13 rolling work stoppages between December 20 and January 3.

The dispute between the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and Qube Ports has been ongoing since contract negotiations broke down in April 2024. The MUA accused Qube of deliberately delaying negotiations and has been calling on the government to intervene and prevent the company from bypassing collective bargaining.

Qube has offered its staff an 18% wage rise over four years but the union is also asking for changes to current rostering rules that let the company determine workers’ shifts at 4pm the day before they begin and fatigue management rules to prevent company managers from allocating dangerous work patterns.

“If the MUA prolongs or expands the scope of the strike, cargo handling delays will likely prompt supply chain disruptions through January,” maritime security consultancy Crisis24 warned.