Date: Tue, 05 May 1998 06:10:22 +0800 To: PROGRESSIVE SOCIOLOGISTS NETWORK From: Priscilla Shorne Subject: May Day May Day marches in Australia were particularly strong this year. Our governemnt has been trying to destroy the union movement through industrial legislation and through encouraging workers to move away from awards and to negotiate enterrise agreements. Recently it was decided that the Maritime Union of Australia, as one of Australia's strongest and most determinedly left wing unions, had to be taken on. It would seem likely that certain members of the government conspired with Patrick, one of the stevedoring companies. Chris Corrigan, CEO of Patrick Stevedoring restructured the companies that employed MUA members by transferring assets, leases etc to other companies in the Patrick Group. This left the employing companies as "labour hire" companies. Patrick then shuffled its assets again and the companies were declared insolvent and the 1400 member workforce were sacked and a non union labour work force employed. While both the company and the Prime Minister claimed that this was all done in the name of productivity and improving the efficiency of the wharves, even those workers in prodictive wharves were sacked and the prime minister admitted they were sacked because they were members of the union. Fortunately the public rose to support the MUA and the picket lines swelled. While many people might have agreed that there were improvements in productivity and efficiency that might be made and in fact were being made albeit slowly, many people of various political complexions did not like to see the government so overtly conspiring with corporate asset strippers. There was also a recognition that there was a principle at stake here, the right to belong to a union. Opnion polls show that while people may not approve of the MUA, they do not want all power in the hands of corporate asset strippes who go to extreme lengths to sack an entire workforce regardless of whether workers at some sities are doign a good job. Secondary boycott provisions in the industrial legislation made it difficult for other unions to support the wharfies. However the public as individuals thronged to the picket line. Even though in one state, an injunction was granted forbidding people to picket, as one commentator noted, if they arested everyone, it could clog up the courst for years. One thing is for sure; if they arrested the public, more would show up. In the meantime, the battle has been taking place in the courts with a ruling on Monday that the wharfies had to be re-employed though the vanishing funds make that difficult. It certainly will not be the end of the court battles with charges of conspiracy being brought against Patrick stevedoring and the Minister for Indusrial Relations and maybe even the banks involved. It is ironic that the government's encouragement of Patrick's actions may have done more to revive the fortunes of the unions than any union recruiting action of recent times. Certainly in Fremantle, where I marched there were 7000 people which is much bigger than it has been for years. Priscilla Shorne