Hutchison defends itself over text message sackings

Hutchison Ports Australia (HPA) has claimed that “severe financial pressures” forced it to make “hard decisions”, which included the redundancies of 97 port workers, who were initially informed by text message.

Ahead of a Federal Court hearing on 1 September, the terminal operator has faced stinging criticism from workers and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) for its handling of the process.

Ninety-seven of its 224 port workers in its Sydney and Brisbane terminals were sacked by text message and email on 6 August, although a Federal Court judge has since granted temporary orders to prevent the redundancies being implemented until the hearing.