IT has been confirmed today the MUA will now be taking a further forty eight hours of strike activity against a vessel operator in the offshore oil and gas sector from Monday – in addition to a 48 hour round of strike activity due to commence this coming Friday.
AREEA Chief Executive, Steve Knott said vessel operators in the oil and gas sector have been negotiating in good faith for over fourteen months now.
“But every time we appear to take a step forward the MUA bosses turn around and call for another round of strike activity which costs the sector millions of dollars every day.”
“It is abundantly clear the MUA will stop at nothing when it comes to inflicting the most amount of damage as possible in pursuit of a pay rise that most fair minded Australians would class as both ‘outrageous’ and ‘greedy’.” Mr Knott said.
“What Paddy Crumlin and Chris Cain aren’t telling the Australian public or their own members is that behind the scenes they are holding out for what we estimate to be a $2.5 million dollar per annum slush fund to be paid directly into MUA coffers.”
Mr Knott said AREEA had hoped the introduction of the Federal Government’s latest round of changes to the Fair Work Act would have seen a shift to a more modern approach which led to job creation in an environment free of the disruptive and destructive strike activity based on the ideological warfare of the past.
“AREEA is therefore disappointed to see the archaic leadership of the MUA choose to remain out of touch, remaining fixated on the class warfare battles of the past. They continue to display a dinosaur mentality which has no place in modern Australian workplaces.”
“Our employers operating in the oil and gas sector, in good faith – have offered a pay rise of over 29% plus generous allowances which most fair-minded Australians have told us is more than reasonable.” he said
Mr Knott said that when introducing the Fair Work Act the Deputy Prime Minister championed the changes as being designed for a modern Australia.
“Clearly she needs now to use her powers under Fair Work to show the archaic leadership of the MUA that bullying and stand-over tactics are, like them, relics of the past.”
Mr Knott said given the Prime Minister’s recent calls for an increase in productivity across Australian workplaces it is disappointing to see that not once over the course of these negotiations have we heard the leadership of the MUA put forward how their over-the-top pay and allowance increases will result any productivity improvements within the sector.
“This senseless strike activity of the Maritime Union bosses is extremely disappointing given the Prime Minister’s recent calls for improved productivity across all Australian workplaces.” he said.
ENDS
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