Workers at Newcastle’s NCIG coal terminal will rally tomorrow at 12:30pm (Tuesday 29 September) in frustration with pig headed coal terminal bosses who refuse to meet the reasonable and fair demands of their workforce.
Workers at NCIG have patiently engaged in good faith bargaining, but NCIG is using every tired excuse available and crying poor to justify a bad offer that workers have indicated repeatedly will not be acceptable.
NCIG has historically had lower pay and conditions compared to other equivalent worksites, but workers at NCIG are highly skilled, responsive and productive, bringing tremendous experience and skill to their work while delivering significant profits to the company.
“We have tried to land a deal through good faith bargaining but the bosses at NCIG want to provoke further disputation by refusing a good deal on the table and countering with one that they know will be rejected by the workers,” said MUA Newcastle Branch Secretary, Glen Williams.
Workers will walk off the job and establish a community rally outside the terminal’s gates.
“We invite all MUA members and community supporters to join this rally and highlight the failure of these managers to engage in a reasonable, fair and sustainable bargaining process that will deliver a good result both sides can be happy with,” Mr Williams said.
“Unfortunately for NCIG’s customers and stakeholders, the throughput of the terminal will be severely reduced because shareholder value is more important to the management team than the livelihoods of workers or the productivity of the port,” Mr Williams said.
The MUA rally will be held at 12:30pm, NCIG Wharf Facility, Cormorant Road, Kooragang.
