ITF Questions Awarding of ICTSI Contract in Australia

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is calling for an inquiry into the contract won by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) to operate the Webb Dock terminal at the Port of Melbourne, Australia.

ITF President and Chair of the ITF Dockers’ Section Paddy Crumlin cites human and labor rights issues raised in a new report ICTSI Exposed. The ITF report alleges that ICTSI profited from business dealings with dictators implicated in crimes against humanity in Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“This raises serious questions about the due diligence process and what consideration was given to ICTSI’s relationships with despotic regimes and subsequent threats to security standards on the Australian waterfront,” says Crumlin.

Union leaders have called on the government to investigate the company was awarded a contract to operate such a critical infrastructure asset in Australia. The ITF says the investigation should determine:

•    What consideration was given to ICTSI’s dealings with anti-democratic and international sanctioned regimes, like the Al-Bashir regime in Sudan in the due diligence process?
•    Was the Sudan deal disclosed to the Victorian Government as part of the tender process?
•    Did the Victorian Government consult with relevant Commonwealth security agencies considering the relationship between ICTSI and the Government of Sudan?

Philippines-based ICTSI won the contract to operate the third container terminal at the Port of Melbourne in 2014.

In 2017, an ITF affiliate organized a walkout at Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) at Port of Melbourne when a union member was sacked, with Crumlin saying: “ICTSI’s insistence on bringing its anti-worker business model to Australia is being met with the resistance you would expect from unions, politicians and the local community.”

Earlier this year, the ITF expanded its campaign against ICTSI by asking the company's shareholders to vote out two board members that ITF accused of being responsible for on-going labor disputes. “In the last 18 months, ICTSI has seen protracted disputes at five terminals, disputes that have directly affected multiple port stakeholders, including governments, global brands and shipping lines," said Crumlin at the time. These disputes include a protracted disagreement with an ITF union at the port of Melbourne, which may be hampering the operator's ability to attract vessel operators, ITF suggested.