ICFTU OnLine
085/980408/DD
Brussels April 8 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): In a dramatic move yesterday, April 7, anti-union employers Patrick Stevedores announced that they were sacking their entire waterfront workforce of 2100 workers after negotiations over new working practices broke down.
Alerted to possible action by Patricks, the ICFTU has learnt from the International Transport Federation, that the stevedores union, Maritime Union of Australia, immediately applied for a Court Injunction which was granted early this morning. As a result, for the next seven days, no dismissals may take place, no transfer of assets may be made within the group of companies to which Patrick belongs, and no one can be employed to perform the tasks of the sacked stevedores.
As a result of Patrick's initial announcement to sack all its workers all Patrick Stevedore wharfs in Australia were blocked as stevedores were ordered off half-loaded vessels. Australian trade unionists believe that security personnel were employed to go to Fremantle dock to ensure that the company's workers were locked out, and in another incident, at East Swanston Dock 25 MUA members locked themselves in and refused to leave the building, and at the same enterprise an MUA member was attacked by a dog belonging to one of the security guards.
It is believed that the Australian government, which has consistently taken an anti-union line since its election, has provided a Aus$250m fund to support the sacking of the stevedores, of which Aus$150m is to be used for redundancy payments for those 1400 sacked workers who are eligible. Last night the government was quoted as saying that it supported the right of the company to restructure its business.
The situation between the dock workers and Patrick Stevedores has been tense for some time, particularly after the Australian government used Fynvest, to recruit mercenaries to work on the dockside to break the power of the unions in Australian ports before Christmas. This failed as a result of the international outcry and swift solidarity action by the International Transport Federation and the Maritime Union of Australia when it was learnt that the mercenaries were to be sent to Dubai for training.
The ICFTU is calling for international solidarity from unions worldwide and is alerting its Human and Trade Union Rights Committee to the situation. It is also writing to the Australian Government asking that it comply with its treaty obligations, and to respect the decision of the Court. It is being regularly updated by its Australian affiliate, the ACTU, on the situation.
Those people wishing to send a protest fax to the Australian government can do so by going to the Labourstart Website at: www.solinet.org/LEE/labourstart.html
For further information, please contact the ICFTU Press Office on: 322 224 0212
