File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1998/marxism-international.9804, message 393


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.




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