Pro-Palestinian Protests At Melbourne Port Target Israeli Cargo Ship

A shipping insider has stated that businesses have incurred significant losses amid multiple disputes at major Victorian ports. On Monday afternoon, some pro-Palestinian protesters reportedly blocked the Victorian International Container Terminal (famous as the VICT) and the Port of Melbourne, where an Israeli shipping firm, ZIM, has been striving to unload its cargo.

The protesters’ goal of stopping the vessel from unloading and compelling it to drop anchor in the bay has been achieved. Ten people have been arrested by Victoria Police on suspicion of trespassing and committing criminal damage, as reported by news.com.au. For the first time, the Victorian International Container Terminal asked the police to assist in driving out protesters from the site on Monday. Based on communications given by 3AW’s Jacqueline Felgate, the source stated that they work with the freight industry, and the industry currently has only one functional port in Melbourne since the VICT has been blocked by protest.

The employee tried to explain that all the issues stretching into the next week would have a debilitating impact. There must be rules that say one cannot simply shut down major infrastructures in Melbourne. The police would not be putting up with this if there were significant blocked roads in the CBD. This is costing businesses millions of dollars. Victoria Police mentioned that the protesters’ activities had significantly escalated recently. And so has the police response.

At the hottest moment of the protests, they allegedly used pepper sprays and had nearly 200 police officers at the terminal. Free Palestine Melbourne, who coordinated the port protests, stated that their goal was to prevent workers from unloading cargo vessels. The activist group said worker shifts block access to the terminal and strand four vessels with 30,000 containers. Per the police, they had volunteered to help employees at the Port of Melbourne and the VICT enter the terminals to and from work via alternate ways. Employees accepted the offers on Sunday afternoon after they were first turned down.

The industry insider pointed out that this is the latest setback for shipping ports in Australia amid industrial actions as workers push for better pay in many major cities nationwide. Since October 2023, a dispute between DP World, Australia’s second-largest port operator, and the union has been going on in what has been termed one of the most significant strikes on the country’s ports in decades.

DP World operates container terminals in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, and Fremantle. In the last week, Tony Burke, the Workplace Relations Minister, accused DP World of waging a media and political campaign against the Maritime Union rather than helping negotiate a workplace deal with its employees.

Spearheaded by the Maritime Union of Australia, the industrial action has included work stoppages and 24-hour strikes, resulting in a backlog of about 45,000 containers across four terminals and threatening to exacerbate the costs of living crunch.

Reference: Aljazeera, The Australian

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