A port operator at the centre of a two-week union protest and picket line blockading millions of dollars of cargo says the harm inflicted has been "immeasurable".
Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), which runs a major terminal at Melbourne's Webb Dock, launched fresh legal action on Monday alleging high-profile union leaders were part of a "conspiracy" to maliciously damage the company by helping man the illegal blockade.
The Supreme Court has previously ordered the maritime union to break the costly picket line, which was formed earlier this month in response to the company refusing to give further shifts to a casual employee and union campaigner.
The picket line has been blocking access gates to the site and has left stranded 1000 shipping containers carrying products at the docks, such as Christmas retail goods, fresh food and medicine.
???Despite the court order preventing the maritime union from being within 100 metres of the terminal's access gates, the campaign has been widely supported by other trade unions and a blockade has remained in force.
Barrister Stuart Wood QC, for VICT, told the Supreme Court that the damage the blockade had already caused "immeasurable" damage.
"It has lost $2 million in revenue," he said, "but the damage to its reputation, if not priceless, is worth many, many millions more."
The campaign against VICT received a mass show of support from several unions on Friday, in a rally attended by more than 1000 people. The union movement describes the rally as a "community protest".
VICT is now seeking a renewed injunction against the Maritime Union of Australia, and against Luke Hilakari, secretary of Victoria's Trades Hall, who was among the unionists to speak at the rally in support..
VICT is alleging in the Supreme Court that Mr Hilakari and other trade unionists have "wrongly and maliciously agreed to conspire and combine among themselves to injure VICT".
Union barrister Herman Borenstein???, QC, said the large group of unionists and community members who attended Friday's rally were simply showing solidarity with the "aggrieved employees" of VICT.
"They said nothing and encouraged nothing by way of unlawful conduct against VICT," he said.
"There is no law of this country that says you have to love your boss."
Justice Michael McDonald said the "overwhelming inference" was that no trucks had been able to access the site for two weeks because of the ongoing illegal blockade.
"If it's not the Trades Hall Council, who is it?" he said.
Justice McDonald on Monday afternoon described the situation at the docks as "plainly unlawful conduct".
"It is a a 100 per cent clear case of unlawful blockading of a company that is in a dispute with the union that wants to go about its lawful business," he said.
Trades Hall issued a statement saying Mr Hilakari had been served with legal documents at his family home over the weekend, adding that it was the first time that a Trades Hall secretary had been "directly targeted in such a hostile manner".
"This is a severe and unprecedented escalation by VICT, who have attempted to intimidate not just Trades Hall but all Australian working people through this extreme action," the statement said.
The court was shown video footage of the mass union rally at Webb Dock on Friday, attended by more than 1000 unionist and high-profile union leaders including Mr Hilakari.
Union lawyers argued in court that the rally took place around a main stage that was 120 metres from the terminal gates, and was not in breach of earlier court orders.
The legal action is the latest development in a bitter workplace dispute affecting the Port of Melbourne, the nation's busiest container port, following VICT's decision to stop giving casual shifts to a union member there.
The company says it stopped giving the man shifts because a security audit found him ineligible to work at the waterfront due to a previous criminal conviction.
Union officials say he was singled out because he had been involved in a drive among co-workers to join the maritime union.
