Portside industrial action threatens retail recovery and jobs Melbourne port at sunset

The National Retail Association has expressed its support for the efforts of Patricks Stevedores and the Attorney-General to bring industrial action at Australian ports to an end, in advance of a hearing before the Fair Work Commission today.

Speaking this morning, Deputy CEO Lindsay Carroll said that “Australian retail is significantly reliant on imports, and the ongoing industrial action threatens the recovery of the sector as it comes out of COVID and into its peak trading season.”

“We saw how sensitive retail supply chains can be with the closure of Chinese manufacturing earlier in the year, and retailers can’t afford to have further interruptions to supply at a critical juncture for retail recovery.”

Although the full effects of the ongoing portside industrial action have yet to be fully felt across the retail sector, the strain is beginning to show, with some retailers already unable to stock certain product lines.

Retailers fear that as the crisis continues, the empty spaces on store shelves will continue to grow.

Even where retailers manufacture their goods in Australia, these are often reliant on imported materials which are delayed by the industrial action.

“We are seeing our members turning to drastic measures, such as using air freight at exorbitant cost, simply to keep their doors open and their staff working,” said Ms Carroll. “Restrictions on air travel due to COVID have already driven prices up, and prices will only go up more as more businesses are forced to take this step.”

“The pandemic forced many retailers to make hard decisions for their continued survival; in industrial action at the ports continues, those decisions are being revisted.”

“Already some of our members have no work for half of their employees due to lack of stock, and while every effort is being made to support those workers, retail businesses cannot provide this indefinitely if they have nothing to sell.”

“Many businesses – and many families – cannot afford for the current situation to continue,” Ms Carroll concluded. “If it does, the action threatens further job losses in the retail sector.”