A-Infos (en)MUA:War on the wharfies 23 May update

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

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News Summary - Saturday 23 May
War on the Wharfies Homepage:
http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm

CONTENTS
(23/5/98) Double legal action initiated against Maritime Union
(23/5/98) Sea-Land solves Adelaide crisis, Newcastle breakthrough
(22/5/98) Banking Consortium implicated in anti-union conspiracy
(22/5/98) Reith attacked on false claims
(22/5/98) P&O threatens workers in Newcastle and Adelaide

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News Summary - Saturday 23 May
Double legal action initiated against Maritime Union
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
has initiated legal action in the Federal Court against the
Maritime Union under the Trade Practices ACT secondary
boycott provisions. The ACCC alledges that the MUA and
several of its union officials have organised international
black bans on ships and local blockades of Patrick terminals.
The ACCC is seeking in the Federal Court urgent injunctions
against the alledged international boycott campaign, a
declaration that the union breached the law, and findings
of fact which would allow third party businesses to pursue
damages.

Dr Alan Fels, the chairman of the ACCC, is under a false
impression to assume the international boycott has been
organised by the MUA, or that community pickets were organised
by the Maritime Union. Unionists and working people worldwide
do not need to be directed to understand the meaning of
solidarity action. Dockers and community activists in Australia
and worldwide can read the news (including this webpage) and act
according to their own conscience. Indeed, this is what has
happenned at the docks in Australia and for the last two weeks
in Los Angeles. Community picket lines have been established
and maintained by the community in the defence of workers and
their unions.

The other legal action initiated is by Patrick and is an
application for deregistration of the Maritime Union, and
breaches under the Trade Practices Act about anti-competitive
conduct. Patrick says the conduct it refers to includes
illegal strikes, secondary boycotts, interference with
contractual relations and with trade and businesses since
1995. To deregister the union Patrick has claimed that the
MUA's attempt to assert a monopoly power, requiring any
employee working on the docks to be a union member, has
hindered the achievement and purpose of the Workplace
Relations Act, providing a basis for deregistration. Chris
Corrigan, company chairman said "We're being pursued in the
Melbourne court for conspiracy and we have every legal right
to file a cross-claim, considering the amount of damage
that's been caused to our company and others,"

John Coombs from the MUA dismissed the claim as a media
stunt. Greg Combet from the ACTU said "I'd say what's
happened is that the Patrick's group is now starting to
realise the gravity of the action that the union has brought
in the proceedings. We see the cross-claim, which includes
some allegation they are going to seek to try to deregister
the maritime union, as a ridiculous proposition, a desperate
one and one that's purely designed to frustrate the union's
case in the Federal Court."

In the Federal Court, the union had a further minor victory.
The creditors meeting of the labour hire companies will
commence on Monday, but the administrators have agreed to
immediately adjourn the meeting for a further two weeks.

(ABC 22/5/98, Financial Review 23/5/98)

Sea-Land solves Adelaide crisis, Newcastle breakthrough
Patrick's 40 odd Adelaide wharfies will be employed by SeaLand,
in a move to expand its business. In Newcastle the MUA has
succeeded in its bid to have former Patrick workers unload a
vessel on the port. Today P&O Ports lost the contract to rival
company Newcastle Stevedores, which has agreed to use the
Patrick workers. Jeff Beesely from Newcastle Stevedores says
Patrick workers have been treated unfairly in the dispute
and he is happy to give them work.
(ABC 22/5/98)


News Summary - Friday 22 May
Banking Consortium implicated in anti-union conspiracy
Bankers told 10 days in advance of plan to dismiss workers
The Federal Court heard on Thursday that Chris Corrigan told
his bankers in a meeting on March 27 that Patrick's labour
hire companies could be starved of funds in a bid to oust
the unionised workforce, and replace it with scab labour
supplied primarily by the NFF backed company P&C Stevedores.

The meeting was held ten days before Patrick sent an army of
security guards and attack dogs onto the wharves to evict its
workers, and placed the companies into administration which
terminated the contracts with the labour hire companies.

A diary note subpoenaed by the MUA from the ANZ Bank's head
of business banking in NSW, Mr Peter Meers, details the meeting
between Patrick and its bankers and discussed actions Patrick
wanted to take to "extinguish" its labour contracts. Julian
Burnside QC for the MUA said "it is a striking illustration
of the problem... that the administrators are simply playing
the hand given to them in the only way it can be played."

A further affidavit was produced by Julian Burnside which
showed that Patrick Stevedores Holdings repaid $3.65 million
of a $14 million debt to the labour companies on condition the
administrator would not persue the rest of the debt until the
creditors' meeting voted on a deed of arrangement.

A letter was also tabled by the MUA from the secretary of
the Department of Workplace Relations, Dr Peter Shergold,
saying that the Federal Government redundancy funds would
not be available if the creditors' meeting was postponed.
This letter was written after the MUA had applied for the
creditors' meeting to be deferred.

The conspiracy against the Maritime Union continues to
unfold. Justice Tony North of the Federal Court is being
asked by the MUA to postpone the creditors' meeting until
the conspiracy case against Patrick goes to trial. Justice
North expressed concern over:

* Why the $14 million debt owed by Patrick's parent companies
to the labour companies had not been repaid, and that no
reason had been given for this.
* the "most Surprising" lack of information in the
administrators' report to creditors about possible outcomes
of the conspiracy action against the Patrick Group.

This must call into question the impartiality of the present
administrators, and it reveals the pressure on them by Patrick
and the Federal Government to take the solutions which have
been planned by Patricks.
Refer to News Summary: Lobby the Banks Campaign

(Financial Review 22/5/98)

Reith attacked on false claims
Peter Reith, Minister for Workplace Relations (and Industrial
Warfare) was accused by Lindsay Tanner, Labor's Transport
Spokesperson, of "falsely claiming" wharfies were being
investigated by the Federal Police over ship hold cleaning
practices. Peter Reith claimed in March that the Federal
Police were investigating allegations of criminal activity,
and prosecuting in one matter.
Lindsay Tanner applied under Freedom of Information laws for
relevant documents held by the Australian Federal Police. The
search did not find any documents relating to "any waterfront
investigation carried out by the AFP".

One more example of the anti-union vilification campaign Peter
Reith has carried out against maritime workers and their union.

(Financial Review 22/5/98)

P&O threatens workers in Newcastle and Adelaide
Mr Andrew Burgess, director of Australian and New Zealand Ports
for P&O has said that MUA members who fail to turn up for their
rostered shifts may have abandoned their employment.

Workers from P&O are refusing to cross community picket lines
to work the ships. The union claims that ships like the Bay
Bonanza in Newcastle which were previously contracted to Patrick,
should be worked by Patrick MUA members. The Bay Bonanza has
been stranded in Newcastle for a fortnight. Patrick has stated
it has closed its operations in Adelaide and Newcastle. The
union claims this is a tactic designed to get rid of its
unionised workforce, and that the company intends to reopen
using non-union contract workers.

The NSW Supreme court has scheduled a hearing of P&O Ports
action against the MUA over bans and pickets in Newcastle
and Adelaide for Monday 25 May.

(Financial Review 22/5/98)

----------------------------
War on the Wharfies is produced independently of any organisation.
It 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
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             http://www.yll.org.au/mua
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