Patrick Stevedores No 2 & Ors v Maritime Union of Aus

Patrick Stevedores No 2 Pty Ltd and others (the applicants) sought interlocutory relief against the Maritime Union of Australia (the respondent) in the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the applicants' decision to cease operations at certain ports and to dismiss a significant number of their employees, which the respondent alleged was a lockout and a breach of the Industrial Relations Act 1988 (Cth). The applicants sought to restrain the respondent from taking industrial action in response to these dismissals.

The primary legal issue before Hayne J was whether the applicants' actions constituted a lockout within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act 1988, and consequently, whether the respondent was entitled to engage in industrial action. This involved an examination of the definition of a lockout and the circumstances under which an employer's cessation of operations could be characterised as such, rather than a genuine redundancy or a response to industrial action by employees.

Hayne J considered the evidence presented, particularly concerning the timing and nature of the dismissals and the applicants' stated reasons for ceasing operations. His Honour found that the evidence did not establish that the applicants' actions were a lockout as defined by the Act. Instead, the evidence suggested that the dismissals were a genuine response to the economic viability of the operations at those ports, and not an attempt to coerce or pressure the respondent or its members. Therefore, the respondent was not entitled to engage in industrial action in response to these dismissals.

The application for interlocutory relief was dismissed.