ACTU accuses Dubai royals of trying to bully Albanese government   

The Age
January 15, 2024


ACTU head Sally McManus has accused Middle Eastern royalty of trying to bully the Albanese government to intervene in the drawn-out pay dispute between wharfies and Dubai-based port operator DP World as she warned Labor against stepping in.

As the Maritime Union of Australia withdrew some work bans to prevent DP World from responding with lockouts at port terminals around the country, McManus also said Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was behaving as the “union delegate for the sheikhs and sultans of Dubai” in urging the government to step in.   


ACTU secretary Sally McManus has accused Dubai royalty of trying to pressure the Australian government over the DP World dispute.

“The game the Dubai royal families want to play with us is to put as much pressure as possible on our government to try and bully them to not stand by working people, and not stand by the businesses of Australia,” the Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary told a Melbourne press conference on Monday.   

“They’re playing a game with us as a country. They’re hoping that Australians will turn on each other and not back each other at this particular time.”

The global company is a private entity majority owned by the government of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, which is a federation of monarchies.
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McManus provided no evidence that the Dubai royal family had been involved in the dispute in any way.

The UAE’s Canberra embassy has been contacted for comment while a DP World spokesperson declined to comment on McManus’ remarks.

In a statement, DP World’s Oceania executive vice president Nicolaj Noes said the stevedore and the maritime union had agreed to a media blackout following a meeting on Monday.


“Out of respect for the Fair Work Commission process, we will not comment on the specifics of today’s meeting. We are engaging constructively in the process and are hopeful the MUA will return to the negotiating table,” the statement said.

On the weekend, the maritime union pulled plans to ban daytime shifts on certain vessels and stage eight-hour work delays on docked vessels, but vowed to continue with a range of other industrial tactics, including two-hour work stoppages at container terminals in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Fremantle, as part of its pursuit of a 16 per cent pay rise for workers over two years.


DP World has called on the federal government to intervene in an escalating dispute with the maritime union.

The ports operator, which has a 40 per cent market share of the nation’s ports, has accused the union of refusing to compromise on any of its 300 claims.

On Sunday, Dutton called on both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke to help resolve the dispute, labelling it an issue of national importance when added to Houthi rebel attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

“There are already concerns, obviously, with what we’re seeing in the Red Sea at the moment about supply chains, and companies are warning us about the impact of a disruption to those supply chains,” Dutton said.


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McManus accused Dutton of backing Dubai royalty over Australians.

“It’s a real shame that Peter Dutton thought he was the union delegate for the sheikhs and the sultans of Dubai,” she said. “We’re saying the government should not intervene.”

A response has been sought from Dutton’s office.

A spokesperson for Albanese’s office said the matter was currently before the industrial umpire and the parties were involved in intensive negotiations.

“The government will continue to closely monitor the impact of the dispute and urges the parties to increase their efforts to reach a negotiated outcome,” the spokesperson said.


Industrial action has led to stock shortages but has not yet flowed through to price increases, retailers say.Credit: James Brickwood

A DP World spokesperson said both sides of politics had been consistently briefed on the situation since March.

DP World Oceania’s senior director of corporate affairs, Blake Tierney, confirmed he and Noes would meet with Burke on Thursday.

MUA assistant national secretary Adrian Evans said the union had withdrawn three elements of protected action to prevent the prospect of a national workforce lockout, claiming managers had used those measures on Friday “to justify completely shutting down four terminals”.