Australian port workers to stop blockade after court ruling

Australian port workers sacked last week via Internet will head back to work on Friday after winning a temporary reprieve, successfully arguing Hutchison Ports Australia failed in its workplace responsibilities.

Hutchison Ports Australia (HPA) workers walked off the job in Sydney and Brisbane last Friday in protest of the 97 workers that were sacked by e-mail messages, blockading the dock and setting up picket lines.

Australian authorities had ordered the protests to end on Monday, however as the protest progressed, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said they were no longer responsible for the picket, with the community venting their frustration at the degradation of Australian workplace rights.

"People want to get out and express their frustration that what Hutchison has done is not good enough," MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin said at the time.

The Federal Court of Australia late on Thursday night in Sydney accepted the MUA's argument that HPA had breached the workers enterprise agreement by failing to adequately consult with workers and ignoring a dispute resolution clause before announcing the forced redundancies.

Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah agreed to grant temporary injunction, blocking HPA from going through with the sackings until a full hearing in September. Endi