Consumers, not DP World, ‘will pay for higher wharfie wages’

Consumers have been warned they will pay for the cost of higher wharfie wages if stevedore DP World reaches a new enterprise bargaining agreement with unions, as industrial action continues to disrupt Australia’s imports and exports.

Neil Chambers, director of Container Transport Alliance Australia, which represents transport logistics businesses, said while Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke had suggested the “highly profitable” DP World could afford to pay the same wages as rival stevedore Patrick, the higher costs would eventually be passed on to consumers.