The maritime union is making an underpayment claim following a fine of over $2 million. 

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has refused to pay major stevedoring companies $2.2 million in court-ordered damages for unlawful port strikes, but has launched a $15 million underpayment claim that some consider “industrial leverage”.

It all follows a Federal Court order in late 2021 for the MUA to pay Qube and Patrick $1.85 million in damages and $319,535 in interest for a two-week strike that shut down Port Botany.

The MUA has hit back with underpayment claims against Qube and its ports director, Michael Sousa. The union claims the company owes 1,000 wharfies $15.5 million for six years of “unlawful deductions”. 

Qube says the union is engaging in industrial tactics to offset the damages order.

The MUA has reportedly been in confidential mediation with Qube over the past few months, but no details have been made public. 

However, Qube’s denial of the alleged underpayment filed in court says that the union’s claims “do not derive from any misunderstanding or epiphany as to the meaning of a clause which it did not previously understand”.

“Rather, the claims are now made as part of a broader industrial leveraging tactic adopted by the [union] against Qube (and its related body corporates), associated with the insistence of some of Qube’s related entities on the recovery of over $2 million in compensation (and interest) they were awarded against the [MUA], despite requests from the [union] to the contrary,” it said.