A-Infos (en)War on the wharfies 6 May update

[Takver <Takver@onaustralia.com.au>]

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News Summary - Wednesday 6 May
War on the Wharfies Homepage:
http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm

CONTENTS
(6/5/98) 100,000 people march in support of the MUA
(5/5/98) Wharfies return to work - Union under pressure

New: Photo-essay on the huge rally in support of the MUA
in Melbourne.


News Summary - Wednesday 6 May

100,000 people march in support of the MUA

Over 100,000 people marched today in Melbourne in support of the
Maritime Union of Australia and against the Federal Governments
anti-union Industrial Relations laws.

People gathered outside Trades Hall (known as the Workers Parliament)
on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street Carlton at 10am.
Various messages of support were heard from the British Trade Union
Congress general secretary John Monks and The Ethnic Communities
Council of Australia.

The march then left Trades Hall with Patrick wharfies leading. The
day was fine and mild - an excellent day for a protest march. People
were exuberant about being part of such a large rally and angry at
the government for its duplicity in the attempted dismissal of
Patrick workers. At the corner of Flinders Street and Swanston Walk
a stage was set up where various speakers including Leigh Hubbard
of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, Jennie George from the ACTU,
and Derek Corrigan, brother to Patrick boss Chris Corrigan,
addressed the huge crowd.

A minute of silence was observed by the rally for Fred Brock, a
retired wharfie who died on April 17 while visiting Japan and
campaigning with Japanese dockers.

The speeches outside Flinders Street Station were broadcast live
on Community Radio Station, 3CR.

(Source: ABC 6/5/98, South News 6/5/98)

Wharfies refuse to work with company Goons

Wharfies have refused to go to work on the wharves with the
company goons that invaded the docks on April 7. Safety concerns
have been raised about working in an intimidating environment -
with attack dogs that could barely be controlled by their trainers.
Mick O'Leary from the Maritime Union arrived at Melbourne's East
Swanson Dock for the 7:00am shift today. "We are not going back
to work right at this point in time and a little bit more patience.

They haven't removed the guard dogs and the security and we're
actually heading back to the Federal Court this morning to seek
an injunction against them and get the things removed. It's
criminal there are ships here, there are containers to be moved
out, we have people ready to go. We have the High Court decision
in our favour and the sooner they do it the better off everyone
will be,"
(Source: ABC 6/5/98)

More allegations against Government
Former SAS officers Mike Wells and Peter Kilfoyle of Fynwest Pty
Ltd have told Channel Nine a Federal Government advisor,
Dr Stephen Webster, urged them both to contact Patrick chief
Chris Corrigan about the Dubai training of non-union labour
last year.

Labor Opposition leader Kim Beazley says Peter Reith and the
Federal Government must come clean. He has called for an inquiry
into the Governments collusion and for Peter Reith to stand aside
while an inquiry is undertaken. "The Australian people have been
greviously misled. There is a collusion here between governments
and others on illegal activity on the sacking of workers, these
are sufficient grounds for inquiry and sufficient grounds for
ministers to stand aside while that inquiry proceeds."
(Source: ABC 6/5/98)

Reith rejected by Adelaide unionists
A crowd of about 40 angry unionists gathered outside the Adelaide
Convention Centre, where Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith
spoke this afternooon to a business lunch of the South Australian
Employers Chamber. Union leaders, including the MUA's South
Australian secretary, Rick Newlyn, have addressed the crowd,
calling for Mr Reith's resignation or sacking.
(Source: ABC 6/5/98)

News Summary - Tuesday 5 May

Wharfies return to work - Union under pressure
Tuesday was a day of negotiation and reflection on the High Court
Judgement. On the superficial level, the union won the reinstatement
of all its workers. Another moral win. But the deeper implications
of the court judgement mean that the union will be under a lot of
pressure to negotiate reduced staffing levels and to accept reduced
working conditions. The continuing threat is the introduction of
non-union labour. That is what Peter Reith is still scheming - to
break the union labour monopoly at any cost, and to reduce working
conditions on the waterfront. The final result of this fight must
still be in doubt.

The High Court ruled that the administrators had wide decision
making powers over who to employ and under what conditions in an
endeavour to keep the labour companies solvent. The Administrators
will be under enormous pressure to run the labour contracts
efficiently or to liquidate the companies. Almost certainly there
will be redundancies. Under what conditions are still to be
negotiated with the union. In the meantime, little attention has
been focussed on the grossly inefficient management practices on
the waterfront. Peter Costello, the Treasurer, (and competitor to
Peter Reith in the Liberal Party leadership stakes) has alluded
to such inefficiencies while keeping his distance from the muck
sticking to Peter Reith. Peter Reith continues to lambast the
workers for rorting the system, with no mention of the other side
of the coin - an inefficient management that cannot run its
business effectively or efficiently but has to hide its own
mistakes through violent confrontation and misrepresentation of
its own workers.

Corrigan has authorised $3.6 million in start up funds to be
transferred to the labour companies. And why not? At this stage
he has little to lose and everything to gain by putting the union
in a difficult position. Reith has threatened to make the
Government backed $250 million redundancy pool unavailable unless
non-union labour is hired by the administrators.

The MUA is taking action in the Federal Court to have the
administrators removed. The MUA will also strenuously resist any
push by Patrick's or the Federal Government for massive redundancies
and the use of non-union labour, while its conspiracy action against
Patrick continues in the courts. The conspiracy case could prove
extremely embarrasing for a government heading towards an election.

Two weeks ago Peter Scanlon, principal shareholder in Lang
Corporation and the man behind the scenes of the Patrick corporate
strategy, stated in a rare interview with the Financial review
that the dispute was about one third over. His prediction that
there is a lot more to come was perhaps not taken too seriously
at the time. The High Court judgement empowering the administrators,
and the Federal Court conspiracy trial will both ensure that the
struggle on the waterfront continues for a long time to come in one
form or another.
(Source: Financial Review 5/5/98)

WIN THE WAR - LOSE THE PEACE?
The Maritime Union of Australia is on the verge of winning the war
against the Federal government and Patrick, but faces the possibility
of losing the peace. Patrick's has used the Corporation Laws to
circumvent Reith's Industrial Relations Laws. Even with the High
Court ordering the reinstatement of Patrick's M.U.A. staff and even
if they win the ongoing conspiracy case, the chances are Patrick's
will have tied up their assets in such a way that no M.U.A. member
will see a cent.

The current legal manouverings are an indictment of our society.
Australia's Corporations Laws are structured in such a way that any
employer can divest themselves of their staff and continue trading.
The current Patrick's saga is nothing new, a number of transnational
corporations have structured their affairs in such a manner that
they are able to lay off staff and not even pay them back wages and
superannuation. The Howard regime has aided and abetted business in
their endeavours to deny workers back pay. The biggest loser in this
whole mess isn't the workers or the Federal government. The biggest
loser is the state. People are waking up to the reality that the courts
and the state are not there to protect their interests, but are there
to protect the interests of the corporate sector.

The current legal morass reinforces many Australians disillusionment
with both the legal and the political sector. Even if the M.U.A. and
the Trade Union Movement win this struggle in the courts, M.U.A.
members run the very real risk of finding themselves without a job
and without compensation for their immoral and possible illegal
sackings.

(Source: Anarchist Age Weekly Review Number 297)

ROGER GYLES Q.C. - SCUDS HIS UNDIES!!
One of the sublime moments of Patrick's appeal to the High Court
occurred on Monday when Chief Justice Brennan peered over the dock
and asked Patrick's silk Mr Roger Gyles Q.C. whether he realised
"If the damages consist of the lost earnings of the entire workforce
for the rest of their working lives, one must wonder about the
sufficiency of the defence assets."

When Roger Gyles answered that Patrick's had no factored such a
consequence into his appeal to the High Court, you could almost
visualise a brown puddle forming round the honourable Q.C.'s
immaculately polished shoes.
(Source: Anarchist Age Weekly Review Number 297)

----------------------------
War on the Wharfies is an independent web page which
contains:
* News reports on the Maritime Union of Australia fight against
  the rightwing attack by the National Farmers Federation,
  waterfront bosses, and federal and state governments.
* News on other union actions and progressive campaigns, or the
  general attack on workers rights or conditions

Takver@onaustralia.com.au
         War on the Wharfies - essential links
 http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm
             http://www.yll.org.au/mua
 http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb63212
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