In an historic achievement, some eight months before expiry of the current 2022 Patrick Enterprise Agreement, members endorsed the Patrick Stevedore 2026 Enterprise Agreement across Patrick’s four Australian container terminals this week with almost completely unanimous support throughout the membership nationally.
This was finalised on the same week as the Union marked the 27th anniversary of the 1998 War on the Waterfront against the Patricks corporation and the Howard Government.
The new agreement delivers a sign-on bonus plus steady pay increases for Patricks wharfies through to 2028 plus guarantees of No Forced Redundancies and No Outsourcing.
MUA officials and delegates first met with Patricks managers in late 2024, with bosses at the national container network operator indicating an interest in rolling over the current agreement and avoiding lengthy negotiations.
"The Union has been negotiating productively with Patricks management for the past few months and is pleased to announce it has signed on to a new deal, expiring at the end of 2028, which will improve wages for our members across the country," said the MUA's Assistant National Secretary, Jamie Newlyn.
"The process which has unfolded between the MUA and Patrick this year shows what is possible when the company is willing to work in good faith with its workforce on a fair enterprise agreement that both sides are happy with", Newlyn added.
Main features of the Agreement are:
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$2000 Sign on Bonus delivered when agreement is registered at the Fair Work Commission
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Annual pay rises that are the higher of either an annual percentage increase or CPI:
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1 Jan 2026: 3.25% or CPI
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1 Jan 2027: 3.25% or CPI
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1 Jan 2028: 3.5% or CPI
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Superannuation increase of 0.5% to 12.5% from 1 July 2025 and will remain 0.5% above the SGC.
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Protect Income Protection increase of 0.25% to 2.25%
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Expanded Personal Leave (Sick Leave) payout provisions to include termination
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No Forced Redundancy due to Automation
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No Outsourcing of work covered by our members under this agreement
The Agreement and associated deeds will be submitted to Fair Work Commission for registration along with declarations required by FWC from the Union and employer.
"It was not lost on members or officials the irony and the timing of this historic vote, held in the first week of April on the 27th anniversary of the 1998 Patrick Dispute, with a number of MUA members from the four terminals involved in meetings and negotiations who had lived through that extraordinary dispute still working today and being the beneficiaries of this new agreement," Mr Newlyn said.
"To achieve an agreement with Patricks without industrial action, the first time since that historic dispute in 1998, is a testament to the delegate committees and the maturity of members who recognised that the current uncertainty of the political and industrial landscape along with the geopolitical and trade tensions we see in today's global economy required a unified position that ultimately delivered and gives certainty to members for the next four years," Mr Newlyn said.
