MUA ranks launch campaign to revive union
By Dick Nichols
PERTH — On November 25, Western Australian wharfies and seafarers determined to revive their union, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), met in Fibber McGees Irish pub in Leederville.
Seafarer Chris Cain, a convener of the meeting, said: "We've been in retreat for years now, beginning with the half-privatisation of the Australian National Line. Members have been becoming increasingly fed up with the officials' excuse of 'this is the best we can do in a difficult situation'.
"But the loss of the industry roster for seafarers — without any fight whatsoever — as well as the impact of the final Patrick deal on all wharfies were the last straws. Something has to be done or the MUA will soon be a union in name only." Cain recently led the fight at the MUA national delegates' conference against the loss of the seafarers' industry roster.
Along with other rank and file MUA members — delegates Steve Best, Ian Bray, Darryl Crane and former WA assistant secretary Barry Holgate — Cain convened the meeting to discuss ways MUA members could fight back.
Despite pressure from local MUA officials, 40 wharfies and seafarers turned up, with many apologies received from members on ships or living too far away to attend.
Before the meeting opened, I was invited to talk about how members of other unions had rebuilt their unions into real weapons against wage cuts, speed-ups, casualisation and job insecurity. An excellent example was the victory of the Workers First campaign in the Victorian branch of the Amalgamated Manufacturing Workers Union last year.
Discussion after the presentation touched on the lethal effect of the ALP-ACTU Accord on workers' "union-mindedness", the disastrous impact of the MUA-Patrick deal and what to do about the demoralisation of union members.
The immediate focus of the meeting was next April's MUA elections. Discussion covered the general situation in the maritime industry, both on the ships and the wharves.
The loss of the seafarers' roster was a major concern. This industry-wide roster, the product of years of struggle by seafarers, narrowed the power of shipowners to discriminate on the basis of militancy or age. With the roster gone and employment controlled by individual shipowners, the way is open for attacks on militants and discrimination by the owners.
Best told the meeting that that day his employer had gleefully informed him: "You don't have a say in anything any more. We own your arse."
Wharfies from Fremantle and Dampier outlined the devastating effect casualisation is having on union consciousness. One recalled the defeat suffered by P&O members at Dampier, who lost their jobs when former state transport minister Eric Charlton awarded the stevedoring at the port to Western Stevedores, which specialises in the use of casual labour. Some P&O MUA members lost their jobs and were forced to leave Dampier, losing up to $50,000 on the sale of their homes.
Holgate said the only solution to the crisis in the industry and the union is a campaign for union democracy, really involving ordinary MUA members, "otherwise we can kiss the union good-bye".
Holgate said it was wrong to think casual workers on the wharves were the problem: "Casualisation, not the casual worker, is the issue. The challenge is to go out and convince the casuals that they should support us."
The meeting was unanimous that the WA MUA leadership of secretary Terry Buck and assistant secretary Wally Pritchard had to be opposed at the April poll. Bray expressed the meeting's sentiment when he said: "There's never been a more urgent need to take them on."
Wharfies and seafarers here are still angry that after Western Stevedores won the Dampier contract, the WA union leadership did not conduct a real fight to save P&O wharfies' jobs and simply ignored all correspondence from the Dampier MUA port secretary on the issue. An October stop-work meeting in Fremantle voted by more than 100 votes to three that the MUA publish an apology to the P&O MUA members at Dampier in the next issue of the union journal.
The main part of the meeting was to plan the launch of a democratic, rank and file campaign in next year's poll. There was general agreement that all decisions on the campaign (such as its policy platform and the preselection of candidates) be taken by general meetings of rank and file members opposed to the old guard. "Without that, we'd just be as bad as the present lot", said one participant.
The next meeting will discuss a draft policy platform, with members invited to make their input beforehand. Among the issues that will loom large in the election are how to fight the loss of the seafarers' industry roster, reviving rank and file structures on the waterfront, protecting present leave arrangements and stopping the "cancer of casualisation".
The meeting decided to produce a regular bulletin, to which all MUA members will be invited to contribute. The first issue, reporting on the meeting and announcing the campaign, has already been sent out to ships and wharves.
The determination and commitment of those present was shown by the whip around at the end of the meeting, which produced $1400. Many of the speakers expressed their willingness to debate the issues with the present officials in front of any rank and file audience.
The meeting ended in high spirits, with Cain thanking all for defying official disapproval to participate.
[Dick Nichols is national industrial coordinator of the Democratic Socialist Party.]