Sacked Hutchison Ports Australia workers have angrily dismissed the company's explanation for their sudden dismissal by midnight text and email as a "Clayton's" response - one you put out when you don't want to say anything. 
The workers continued to protest outside Hutchison Ports Australia's Port Botany terminal on Sunday, demanding an explanation for their late-night sacking last Thursday.
Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said the company's public statement about the job losses was a "Clayton's press release".
Hutchison Ports Australia sacked 97 of is 224 workers in Sydney and Brisbane on Thursday night.
It released a statement on Saturday blaming market conditions for the mass redundancies, denying it was replacing workers with driverless cranes or automated straddles in "the foreseeable future".
"The company is downsizing its service offering to the market," chief financial officer Chee Keong Chan wrote. "HPA is currently incurring substantial financial losses. It has been unable to secure market share with leading shipping lines already committed to the existing operators under long-term contracts."
Mr Crumlin called on the company to release all data to support its claim. "Sacking workers by text and email - effective immediately - is not the Australian way," he said.
The matter will be heard in the Fair Work Commission on Monday.
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Tim Dick Page 16