Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Dock Work Convention, 1973 (No. 137) - Australia (Ratification: 1974)

Articles 2 and 5 of the Convention. Measures to encourage permanent or regular employment. Improving efficiency of work in ports. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Commonwealth legislative framework implementing the Convention remains unchanged. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not fully reply to the Committee’s previous request, nor does it reply to the previous observations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in which it raised concerns that collective bargaining has proven insufficient to ensure compliance with Article 2 of the Convention, as there continues to be a high level of casual employment in dock work. The Committee therefore reiterates its request that the Government communicate information on the results of the measures taken, including through collective bargaining, to encourage the provision of permanent or regular employment for dockworkers (Article 2(1)). The Committee also requests the Government to communicate information on the measures taken and the results achieved at the tripartite level to improve the efficiency of work in ports (Article 5).

Article 6. Safety, health, welfare and vocational training. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in 2016, Safe Work Australia developed a Code of Practice on Managing Risks in Stevedoring to provide practical guidance for business owners on how to manage health and safety risks associated with stevedoring. The Government adds that vocational training for stevedoring was updated, including in the area of occupational health and safety, in compliance with the model Work Health and Safety Act 2011. In this context, the Committee recalls paragraph 169 of its 2002 General Survey on Dock Work, according to which the reference instruments for occupational safety and health policy are the most recent Conventions concerning this specific topic. The Committee therefore draws the Government’s attention to the invitation made by the Governing Body to member States to consider ratifying the Occupational Safety and Health (Dock Work) Convention, 1979 (No. 152), and its corresponding Occupational Safety and Health (Dock Work) Recommendation, 1979 (No. 160). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide particulars of the safety, health, welfare and vocational training provisions which apply to dockworkers.

Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in the country, including for instance, extracts from reports of the authority or authorities entrusted with the application of the legislation and regulations, as well as particulars of the numbers of dockworkers on the registers maintained in accordance with Article 3 and of variations in their numbers during the period covered by the report.