Infuriated workers have formed picket line at Hutchison Ports in Botany, NSW after 97 employees from Sydney and Brisbane were sacked by email. Hutchison Ports Australia operates as Brisbane Container Terminals in Queensland.
Brisbane port workers woke Friday morning to discover they had been sacked overnight, with Hutchison Ports Australia alerting them to the news via text message.
The sent out a message to more than 40 workers just before midnight, stating the worker had been sacked and there would be "no redeployment opportunities".
"You are not required for your allocated shift, please disregard your most recent work orders, you are not required on shift until further notice," the text message sent to 41 Brisbane workers said.
It pointed affected staff to an email which went into further detail.
The Maritime Union of Australia described as "unconscionable", "barbaric" and "unAustralian" and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten called it "heartless, callous and stupid".
The MUA has sought a Federal Court injunction against the sackings and says a small group of workers who were not made redundant were occupying the company’s Brisbane terminal in protest.
"We are going to be here until all our members, all our workers get justice" said Paul Keating, deputy branch secretary of the MUA Sydney branch. An MUA alert declared "War on the waterfront".
The union believed a hidden agenda for automation on the waterfront was at play. "We say automation without negotiation is anti-union and won't be tolerated".