Luxury cruise ship passengers ferried to shore after strike closes port

Broome port strike threatens cruise ship arrivals during peak tourist season in WA's north In short: Strike action is set to continue for two weeks at the Port of Broome, affecting cruise ship arrivals to the popular tourist town. Workers walked off the job after failing to reach an agreement with the Kimberley Ports Authority over wages and conditions. What's next? The KPA says it will continue to meet with employees and the union to resolve the outstanding terms. Cruise boat passengers on luxury tours of Western Australia’s remote north have been ferried to shore using tenders and provisions loaded by hand onto ships as work stoppages at Broome’s port begin to take effect. Stevedoring and maintenance employees walked off the job last Friday after failing to reach an agreement with the Kimberley Ports Authority (KPA) over wages and conditions. The strike action is set to impact both of the port’s terminals for two weeks. It's the second major industrial action in the state's north in less than a week, following unrelated work stoppages at BHP's facilities in Port Hedland over the weekend. Small business impact Two livestock ships and seven cruise boats were due to berth at KPA port this week, while another 12 vessels were due alongside the adjacent, privately owned floating jetty. Discovery One Cruises owner Erie Astrup said her crews had been forced to load provisions from the slipway near the wharf, instead of relying on stevedores and cranes. "I support the negotiations that are going on but it really does have a huge knock-on effect for the whole community, all the tourism industry, the small businesses," she said. "And that can feel a bit unfair and challenging for many because it's a short tourism season in the Kimberley." It is unclear how larger cruise boats, due alongside this week with up to 300 people on board, will manage the massive amount of food and fuel required for voyages. The luxury cruiser Le Jacques Cartier had been scheduled to dock at KPA's main wharf on Tuesday morning, but remained offshore. Passengers were seen being ferried to the slipway using the ship's tenders. Ponant Explorations CEO Deb Corbett said the company was making the necessary arrangements to manage Le Jacques Cartier's schedule and would update its guests directly. Shayne Murray, who runs a bus company which regularly services visiting cruise boats, said the transfers using the slipway were "not ideal". "But it's working well — the tide's in our favour and the easterlies aren't in today," he said. Industry rallies Mr Murray is also the president of Cruise Broome, an association of industry and volunteers who help promote and manage cruise groups to the town. "It [the strike action] affects everyone, from the hotels to planes, the people who pay a lot of money for these cruises," he said. In an online post, Liberal MLC Neil Thomson said it was "so embarrassing for our state to have people disembarking via the slipway rather than on the new multi-million dollar port facility". KPA port workers and their union, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), have been trying to negotiate a new enterprise agreement since October last year. Union defends strike MUA WA branch secretary Will Tracey said the strike action was justified. “Broome tradesmen are paid the lowest rates for tradesmen at port authorities in the state,” he said. “The cost of living has only increased since the last agreement was done and there should be a reflection of that within the Broome area allowance, which compensates for the excessive cost of living across the Kimberley.” In a statement, the KPA said it would continue to meet with employees and the union and "bargain in good faith" to resolve the outstanding items, with the Fair Work Commission now assisting in conciliation. The parties are due to meet again tomorrow.