AUSTRALIA’s Port Authority of New South Wales has announced that members of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) working on board pilot cutters operated by the port authority in port Jackson and port Botany will hold a 24-hour work strike on Wednesday November 8 from 6 a.m.

The strike by the MUA will suspend the use of the pilot vessels to embark and disembark pilots in port Jackson and port Botany, affecting the movement of containerships.

The stoppage comes amid a gridlock in negotiations between the port authority and the Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU) and the MUA over a replacement Enterprise Agreement for its Sydney workforce. The talks have been ongoing since February.

“Unfortunately, these negotiations continue to remain difficult to finalise as the unions are maintaining a position which seeks employment guarantees that port authority is unable to provide,?the port authority said, reported GAC Hot Port News.

The MUA have agreed to exempt a number of functions from any industrial action including: watch keeping at sea; fire rounds; port security watches; safety drills; product tanker and crude oil tanker vessels; all dealings with emergency equipment; and all safety and emergency related issues.

Emergency response, vessel traffic services and other port officer functions (other than pilot cutter movements) will be required to continue as normal during the work stoppage.