Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 07:35:48 +1000
From: takver-AT-onaustralia.com.au (by way of pmargin-AT-xchange.anarki.net (Profit Margin))
Subject: AUT: LL:ART:MUA:War on the Wharfies 16 May update


News Summary - Saturday 16 May
War on the Wharfies Homepage:
http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm

CONTENTS
(16/5/98) Prime Minister shown as top man in waterfront strategy
(16/5/98) Justice Beach exacts vengeance on MUA
(16/5/98) COMMENT - Waterfront Politics -
            Indonesia erupts against Suharto
New Sub-pages : French language article on the sackings
                Indonesian News and Links page
          -----------------------------------
News Summary - Saturday 16 May
Prime Minister shown as top man in waterfront strategy

The Prime Minister, "Honest" John Howard, featured at the top of a
flow chart on the reporting strategy for waterfront reform. This
document and other information from two secret reports commissioned
by the Government were released on Friday by the Financial Review.
The documents are from reports prepared by Dr Stephen Webster and
David Trebeck. They name, not only the Prime Minister, but also senior
departmental heads and advisors.

Dr Webster, a former naval historian, is now a senior advisor to
Peter Reith, Minister for Industrial Confrontation. Both reports
detailed the need to provoke industrial unrest on the waterfront
for a major strike so that a non-union workforce could be established
on the docks.

The ACTU is seeking to subpoena these reports for the Conspiracy
case against Reith, Patrick and the National Farmers Federation.
Similarly, the Senate, the Federal Upper House of Parliament,
has voted for the reports to be tabled by the Government. The
Government is refusing.

The Prime Minister is featured at the top of the chart, followed
by the Ministers for Transport(John Sharp) and Industrial
Relations(Peter Reith). Then the ministerial advisors which
includes Prime Ministerial advisor Arthur Sinodinos; Greg Bondar,
former Executive director of the Australian Chamber of Shipping
and Advisor to Transport Minister John Sharp; and Wilson as
advisor to Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith. Next follow
the departmental secretaries - Moore-Wilton from Prime Minister
and Cabinet, Allan Hawke from Transport, and David Rosalky from
Workplace Relations. After that come the special advisors and
secretariat as part of the Waterfront Taskforce, which would
include Trebeck and Webster.

The first report by ACIL was at a cost of $60,000 in May 1996.
The report had to wait until the Government's anti-union
legislation was in place in early 1997 - the Workplace Relations
Act.

The contents of the ACIL report were described to the AFR by
those familiar with its contents as "explosive". The key points
of the report were:

* How to keep the ports moving in a dispute.
* How to rehire labour in an all-out stoppage.
* The importance of stressing the multi-dimensional aspects of
the waterfront monopoly problems, including stevedores, port
authorities, tugs and ancillary services.
* The legal aspects, particularly relating to secondary boycotts
and picketing.
* How to highlight the question of waterfront inefficiencies
and problems caused by the Maritime Union of Australia.

ACIL prepared a second report without the necessity for the
tendering process, citing a need for "special knowledge and
familiarity with the previous task" and "the need for sensitive
handling of this task requires a strict 'need to know' approach
and this adds to the requirement that the work be carried
through by ACIL Economics and Policy Pty Ltd."

The consultants contracts stipulated a clause requiring anyone
working on the reports to sign copies of the section of the
Crimes Act dealing with official secrets.

A futher report in Saturdays paper suggests that P&O Ports were
also at one stage considering dismissal of its workforce if a
national strike eventuated over the sale of the Australian
National Line, owned by the Australian Government. This report
is based upon handwritten notes by Peter Reith recording a
conversation with then Transport Minister John Sharp on
March 20 1996.

A confidential briefing paper prepared for Peter Reith,
John Sharp, Patrick and P&O Ports last March (1997) was
titled "Summary Dismissal of Federal Award Employees Engaged
in Unprotected Industrial Action". This paper details strategies
for dismissal of the workforce, and some of the pitfalls to
avoid. In one part it suggests alternative restructuring
options and states:

"One possibility would be to outsource the running of
operations, with responsibility for operations being
contracted out. Another would be for the stevedore to
engage a labour agency which provided workers on an
'as required basis', without a direct legal relationship
ever existing between the stevedore and the worker."
(Financial Review 15/5/98, 16/5/98)

Justice Beach exacts vengeance on MUA

You may recall that Victorian Supreme Court Justice Beach,
when approached by Patricks on Monday 20th April, granted an
injunction against any members of the public of being anywhere
near Patrick's Melbourne terminals. The order was so broad it
made a mockery of the law. A court of appeal successfully
overturned the severity of such a ridiculus order and ruled
it only applied to MUA members. Justice Beach had ordered that
the MUA place quarter page adds in 3 newspapers advising the
public of the injunction. These adds did not appear until last
week, at least two weeks after the injunction.

The "good" judge found the MUA to be in contempt of court,
and is hearing arguments on penalties. A possible precedent
on penalties could arise from the Mudginberri dispute in 1985
when the meat workers' union was fined $10,000 plus $2,000 a
day for contempt of a Federal Court interim injunction.

Justice Beach, I heard about your injunction, and then happily
went down to the picket line as a member of the community to
support workers who were trying to uphold Justice North's
original order for reinstatement made on the 8th April.
People were gathered at the community assembly to support
justice for workers, if necessary with nonviolent civil
disobedience. Patrick Stevedoring were openly flouting Justice
North's injunction.


Maritime Union submits claims for Patrick Appeal delays

On Thursday the MUA formally demanded that Patrick pay
around $1.6 million for the wages lost by its members
because of the two-week delay in implementing Federal Court
reinstatement orders while the company pursued appeals all
the way to the High Court.Undertakings were given by Patrick
to the full Federal Court and the High Court that it would
meet any damage suffered by the MUA as a result of the
original orders being stayed pending the outcomes of the appeal.

In other moves, the Maritime union is seeking control of the
creditors committee of the labour companies. To do this, the
union will be lodging a $400 million damages claim against
Patrick in the near future. If the labour companies are
liquidated, the labour contacts can be put out to tender.
Similarly, the administrators have the power to outsource
the labour. There are at least four contract labour companies
interested in suppling labour including: Skilled Engineering, Manpower
Australia, the National Farmers Federation backed Producers
and Consumers Stevedores.


On the International Picket Line 16 May

In Osaka on 11 May, hundreds of demonstrating Japanese trade
unionists met the Australian Endeavour to protest about the
use of non-union stevedoring labour to work the ship in
Australia. Similar gatherings took place in Yokohama on 8 May
and 10 May in Nagoya. The MSC Singapore was also met by Japanese
dockers in Yokohama.
No further news on the fugitive vessel Colombus Canada which
was last reported at anchor off Los Angeles unable to unload
is cargo. The CGM Gauguin was diverted from Bombay last week
after ITF affiliated dockers unions there warned the vessel
would be targeted. The vessel was worked by Indonesion dockers
under protest who said the ship was badly stowed and unsafe.
ITF Press release 12 May

News Comment - Saturday 16 May
Waterfront Politics - Indonesia erupts against Suharto
COMFORTABLE AND RELAXED

John Howard, Australia's relaxed and comfortable Prime Minister
and Peter Reith, the Federal Minister for workplace warfare have
miscalculated badly in their attempts to introduce non-union
labour on the wharves. In one of the most amateurish political
displays since Federation, they have managed to set the cat among
the contract pigeons.
Alarm bells began ringing even among diehard coalition supporters
when Australians began to understand the ramifications of Patrick's
legal pirouettes. One hundred thousand workers marched in Melbourne
last week because they understood that employers, both in the
private and public sector, could legally establish insolvent
companies that could be sent down to the bottom of the harbour
anytime the parent company found it convenient to do so.

Contract workers and workers who have signed Enterprise
Bargaining Agreements realised that their contracts are not
worth the paper they are written on. Today almost every worker
both in the unionised and non-unionised workforce doesn't
share the Prime Minister's comfortable and relaxed position.
Everyone now understands that any employer, can at any time,
legally structure their business so that they can circumvent
laws that have been passed by parliament to safeguard peoples'
job security and in the bargain not pay workers back pay and
entitlements when they are sacked.

If John Howard had even the slightest intention of keeping his
election promise of using his extraordinary parliamentary
majority to create a relaxed and comfortable society, he would
make it his governments priority to introduce urgent legislation
into parliament to prevent the Patrick's fiasco from occurring
again. Examining John Howard's past parliamentary record,
the chances his government will pass legislation to improve
workers security is tantamount to asking Dracula to give back
the blood he's stolen from his victims.


Suharto the Butcher must go
A PERMANENT HOLIDAY FOR MR. TEN PERCENT

Contrary to all expectations, student protests in Indonesia
have increased in the face of severe government clampdown.
The conditions attached to the Indonesian International
Monetary Fund bailout have signalled the beginning of the
end for Suharto, the father of half a million dead. As Suharto
takes his place in a developing nation's conference in Egypt,
students are spearheading the resistance against Suharto the
Butcher and the International Monetary Fund.

Suharto the Butcher, the regions if not the worlds foremost
exponent of crony capitalism (what belongs to the state is
mine) is facing the first serious challenge to his rule in
over thirty years. The rest of the country waits in the wings
while Indonesian students take on the military machine. To
date the reaction to Suharto's rule has been confined to
student circles, in the last twenty four hours prominent
Muslim opposition leaders have publicly articulated their
opposition to Suharto and have demanded his resignation.

Although most Indonesians are not involved in overt resistance
to the Suharto military machine, it's possible, just possible
that the military will be unable or more likely unwilling to
stop students challenging the legitimacy of the Indonesian
military dictatorship. Suharto has become an embarrassment not
only to his people, but the International Monetary Fund and
world leaders including Bill Clinton.

The stage is set for the overthrow of the Suharto regime and
the possible disintegration of the Indonesian state, an
artificial colonial entity. Whether the I.M.F. and regional
governments, including Australia and the United States are
able to replace the Suharto regime with a government that's
friendly to their objectives and the I.M.F.'s objectives is
difficult to say. Whether the student revolt is embraced by
the Indoenesian people and establish as a government that caters
to their needs, not the needs of the corporate world, will
depend on how far the revolt will spread. Either way Suharto
the Butcher's days are numbered.

JOSEPH TOSCANO (Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society).
Anarchist Age Weekly Review Number 299 11th - 17th May, 1998.
http://avoca.vicnet.net.au/~anarchist/weekly.html

Quote of the week
'I defy anybody to go and get passports for 76 current and ex-serving
soldiers to go to Dubai next week and not have Foreign Affairs and ASIO
all over them.'
Andrew Harris, quoted in SMH, 9 May 1998
http://www.smh.com.au/daily/content/980509/pageone/pageone5.html
----------------------------
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-AT-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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