Perth (Platts)--17Dec2012/534 am EST/1034 GMT

Coal and iron ore exports from Fremantle port in the state of Western Australia were halted by industrial action from 5:30 am local time Monday (2130 GMT Sunday) as port workers belonging to the Maritime Union of Australia started a six-day strike, a port spokeswoman said.

Fremantle port's Kwinana Bulk Terminal handles iron ore and coal exports, and one ship berthed at the terminal was unable to load iron ore exports on Monday, the spokeswoman said by telephone.

"The dispute started this morning and there are pickets at the Kwinana terminal jetty and at the operations gate," she said.

"The issue that is the sticking point is that unions want to have guaranteed permanency of employment for the life of the [enterprise] agreement," she said, adding that the port and the union were currently in talks shepherded by Fair Work Australia.

Article continues below...

Request a free trial of: International Coal Report
	International Coal Report and its daily companion, Coal Trader International, deliver expert and respected price assessments for coal trading in the Atlantic and Pacific markets including price assessments for European CIF ARA, FOB Newcastle, Richards Bay and Indonesia.

The MUA said in a statement it wanted a written assurance from the port authority that workers would not be sacked en masse if the state-owned facility was sold to a private buyer.

"The port is not to be privatized," the port spokeswoman said, responding to local media speculation that the West Australian state government plans to sell parts of the port.

MUA assistant state secretary Will Tracey said in the union's statement: "There are no pay and conditions in this dispute. The only argument left is what happens if the government privatizes. Port workers are ready to sign the final deal -- all conditions have been agreed to, except the issue of security of employment in the case of privatization."

Fremantle port's bulk terminal began iron ore exports in November 2011 and all 1.8 million mt shipped from the facility in the fiscal year ended June 2012 went to China, according to Fremantle Port's 2012 annual report.

The port also shipped 488,000 mt of coal in the same fiscal year, of which 52% went to South Korea and 48% to China, according to the report.

"We own and operate Kwinana Bulk Terminal and the jetty, but stevedoring is not done by the port. Coal is exported through KBT, but this is not happening at the moment," the port spokeswoman said.

Griffin Coal has a four-year contract with Fremantle port to ship 750,000 mt/year of its sub-bituminous coal through the recently expanded Kwinana Bulk Terminal from its mines at the coal field located 220 kilometers (136 miles) south of Perth, Fremantle port said in its report.

--Mike Cooper, michael_cooper@platts.com
--Edited by Wendy Wells, wendy_wells@platts.com

Tweet