Australian tugboat worker lockout suspended

Australia's industrial relations tribunal the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ruled against a planned indefinite lockout of almost 600 workers by tugboat operator Svitzer Australia, which could have disrupted exports of grain and other agricultural products.

The FWC on 18 November forced Svitzer to suspend the lockdown for six months, saying that the "intended lockout threatens to cause significant damage to the Australian economy". It is uncertain if the company will continue with the lockdown after May 2023. Svitzer on 14 November gave notice of a lockout to all harbour towage employees covered under its 2016 National Towage Enterprise Agreement.

The lockdown would have been a major threat to Australia's economy, preventing the use of 17 port services including key grain export ports in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia states. The threat created concern among international trading partners, with continued volatility in the global grains market from uncertainty about access to the Black Sea corridor, droughts in the US and flooding in Australia.

Full storage facilities in Australia from three years of bumper crop production after favourable weather conditions increases the need to export grain, especially as this year's winter harvest flows into storage sites and ports. Australia accounts for 10-15pc of the world's 100mn t/yr global wheat trade, with 65-75pc of that exported to Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, according to the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre.

By Jessica Clarke