Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:16:37 +0100 From: Hugh Rodwell <m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se> Subject: M-I: MUA: War on the wharfies 24 April update (fwd) Forwarded from MUA-update. Cheers, Hugh __________________________ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 22:56:22 +1000 From: Takver <Takver-AT-onaustralia.com.au> To: MUA-update <mua-update-AT-vmore.org.au> Subject: MUA: War on the wharfies 24 April update News Summary - Friday 24 April War on the Wharfies Homepage: http://www.users.bigpond.com/Takver/soapbox/index.htm Correction: Update of 23 April implied the legal action against Labournet was connected with the Australian Wharf dispute. This was incorrect - it was a separate (but equally disturbing) event not connected with Patricks or the MUA. News Summary - Friday 24 April ------------------------------- Maritime Union wins moral ground Battle for the Docks is far from over Effectively, Justice North's order to reinstate the 2100 employees dismissed by Patrick has won the union the high moral ground in this dispute. The findings that there are strongly arguable cases against Patrick for conspiracy and breaches of Reith's Workplace Relations Act gives the Union and supporters determination to keep up the pressure on the Government and Patrick. If the injunction passes through a High Court challenge, it will be heard in the Federal Court throughout May. At a hearing today (Friday) before Justice Haynes the stay on the order to reinstate the workers was extended till 5pm Monday, with the Full Bench of the High Court expected to meet in Canberra during Monday. Justice Haynes said there was enough exceptional issues to warrant an appeal. In London, Patrick has stopped its pursuit of the ITF in the High Court. The Governments watch dog on secondary boycotts, Allan Fels of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has prepared a case against the union alleging the MUA had breached the secondary boycott provisions of the Trade Practices Act over planned international union boycotts. The case has not yet been filed. Howard and Reith seen as treasonous Peter Reith and John Howard do not know when to call it quits. They have been talking about waterfront reform for several years, when in reality they are not interested in reforming the waterfront, their sole purpose has been to scheme the destruction of the Maritime Union of Australia. At any instance they could have called an all party conference and sat down to discuss waterfront reform, but they have chosen to support confrontationist and partisan policies. They have not had the interests of Australia at heart - their sole concern has been the interests of employers in this dispute. As a reader of this page commented - their actions should be regarded as treasonous. Peter Reith, like a trained cockatoo, continues to slander waterside workers by accusing them of rorts and excessive salaries. Yet, his own departmental database of waterfront awards, Osiris ( http://indrel.agps.gov.au), reveals that for a normal work week a top salary is about $35,000, hardly an excessive figure. Wharfies earn extra payments from large amounts of overtime - which is far cheaper for the employer than hiring more staff. Peter Reith should clean up his own bed - his parliamentary colleagues in the Liberal Party are well known for rorting the system via travel allowances and familly trusts. The Prime Minister declared his total support for Peter Reith, and stated he had no regrets about the Government support of Patricks. The Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley accused Peter Reith of being "front and center in a bungled piece of Zealotry." Bank creditors maybe included in conspiracy trial John Coombs has suggested that banks could be added as respondents to the union's claim of conspiracy. The bank creditors claim that the Patrick group owes $270 million. The syndicate comprises National Australia Bank, ANZ Bank, Citibank, Societe Generale, BankWest, Colonial and Bankers Trust. As creditors of the insolvent companies, these banks could force the Patrick employing companies into liquidation. The banks are said to have garantees from other companies further up the chain within Patrick and its parent, Lang Corporation. The employing companies are owed $14 to $16 million via inter company loans. This complex financial tangle only adds weight to the fact of a conspiracy to dismiss the workforce and obfuscate and obstruct any attempt by the union to keep the employing companies solvent, and operating. The union has offered to underwrite the companies initial statup costs up to about $3.6 million. Administrator, Peter Book, said with this money the companies would be in a position to trade. He is pursuing about $14 million from other Patrick companies. Chris Corrigan has released into the corporate and industrial relations world complex corporate structures designed to evade and minimise responsibilities under the law to creditors, whether they be banks, other businesses, or workers. It makes a mockery of unfair dismissal laws. The cat is out of the bag, and it remains to be seen what if any the Government will do to reassure workers and small businesses that this could be done to them at any time. The tactics of Patrick and the Federal Government has come under strong attack by distinguished Melbourne Queen's Counsel, Frank Costigan. Costigan conducted a royal commission in the early 80's which examined organised crime on the waterfront and led to the investigation of bottom of the harbour tax evasion schemes. From his article in The Age 23 April 1998: "I have followed with despair over the past few months the approach taken by Patrick and the Government. Both these parties have acted on the assumption of a serious problem on the waterfront. Both have failed consistently to spell out the nature of the problem except by emotive reference to historical events. Neither has attempted to identify with precision (i) the true extent of waterfront reform achieved over the last decade, (ii) the current (not historic) state of alleged rorts etc, or (iii) the role, if any, of management failures. This information is vital to determine the appropriate course of change and reform." Lindsay Tanner, the Labor Party's Transport spokesperson has pledged to pursue the various secret consultancy reports which cost the taxpayer around $1.3 million. He will seek the assistance of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, as the documents maybe crucial in proving the conspiracy between the Government, Patrick, and the National Farmers Federation. >From the Picket Lines 24 April While the court room battles continue, the MUA pickets and community assemblies have reputedly held up more than 10,000 containers around Australia. Roughly, 25-30% of all container shipments have been effected. The union continues to respond to requests for release of containers on humanitarian, medical or emergency grounds. The pickets and community assemblies have been important in maintaining pressure on Patrick and the Government, without which the unions claim for reinstatement would have had much less relevance in the courts. The streets of Brisbane on Thursday saw demonstrations of MUA members and supporters successfully close down the Port of Brisbane. In intermittent rain, over 3,000 people succeeded in blocking all road and rail cargo in and out of the port. This demonstrations follows 184 arrests on Tuesday for blockading rail lines. In Melbourne, over 5000 people gathered last night at East Swanson Dock to celebrate the Federal Court injunction orders. The wideranging injunction by Justice Beach of the Victorian Supreme Court is being strongly challenged as a denial of civil liberties. The afternoon the injunction was declared a tugboat crew decided to interpret the injunction to mean they could not come within 200 metres of Patricks East Swanson wharf, thus leaving a ship effectively stranded. ---------------------------- 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 ------------------------------- Visit www.yll.org.au/mua to send a free fax to John Howard. --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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