Thursday 17 November 2022 11:56 PM Svitzer will not lockout tugboat workers in Australia amid growing industrial ... trends now
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A planned lockout from the owner of Australia's tugboats, bringing vital supplies Down Under, was forcibly canned just hours before it was set to take place - but it was too late to stop the supply chain being disrupted.
Danish-owned tugboat giant Svitzer planned to lock its 580 Australian workers out of 17 ports in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia on Friday in an ongoing dispute.
Locking out is a type of industrial action taken by an employer against its own workers, leaving the staff unable to work.
The decision came after three years of failed negotiations between the company and worker unions over a new enterprise agreement.
The Fair Work Commission on Thursday ruled Svitzer could not lockout its workers as it would cause too much damage to Australia's economy with more than 90 per cent of trade expected to cease at affected sites.
However, the ruling was too little too late for many port workers with some ports already ceasing operations overnight.
Svitzer's plan to lockout striking port workers has taken a toll on Australia's shopping industry despite being called off on Thursday night (pictured, a Svitzer tugboat)
Tugboats are responsible for steering larger ships into place as they enter
