From the ABC:
Tug boat engineers in Port Hedland, the country’s biggest iron ore port, are launching industrial action over a pay dispute.
There will be four-hour stoppages on August 9, 11 and 13.
The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers has notified the tug operator Teekay.
Teekay, which owns the licence for towage services at the port and employs 166 crew, says it regrets the impact the stop-work will have on customers, which include BHP Billiton and Fortescue.
In a statement Teekay indicated though it will not be giving into the demands of the engineers.
“Teekay believes the claims by the AIMPE on behalf of its members are significantly out of step with the current economic environment,” it said.
It says the base salary for an engineer at Port Hedland is “already approximately $220,000 a year.”
It goes on to say that with housing assistance, penalty rates, meal and travel subsidies and 13 per cent super, the total package averages between $280,000 and $390,000 a year.
These are cleverly structured strikes. They’ll disrupt productivity rather than outright close the port. Miners share prices will suffer as volumes are crimped but prices don’t rise, while the national interest attack upon the union is blunted.
