The Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/news/9901/05/text/national9.html Coombs backs defiant wharfies Date: 05/01/99 By HELEN TRINCA, Workplace Writer The Maritime Union of Australian yesterday labelled Patrick a "renegade" of the waterfront as the stevedore company reserved its right to take further legal action over the refusal of waterfront workers to work on New Year's Eve. The union's national secretary, Mr John Coombs, accused the company of trying to gain a commercial advantage over other stevedores who had behaved "ethically" and not worked the holiday shifts. In a defence of his members' decision to take the day off or call in sick in defiance of an order by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to turn up for work, Mr Coombs accused Patrick of provoking industrial problems. "We are not prepared to throw away workers' entitlements to underwrite a company whose philosophy is one of constant unjustified confrontation at every level," he said. The MUA was "constantly confronted by provocation from this renegade company" and the workers had simply exercised their right not to work the shifts, which were always voluntary. Mr Coombs's comments appear to reflect, in part, some internal unhappiness with aspects of the settlement of last year's docks dispute. They also indicate that the national office is strongly behind branches - especially the Sydney branch - which have taken a tough line on the issue of holiday work. Officials in Sydney and Fremantle said the company's "heavy handed" attitude had caused the "spontaneous" decision of members to stay at home across eight terminals. A Patrick spokesperson said the company was taking legal advice. There was no provision for volunteer work arrangements on New Year's Eve. Under the company's enterprise agreement and memorandum of understanding there were three public holidays each year when the ports were closed. But New Year's Eve and New Year's Day were not among them. The union is relying on the common industry practice and the stevedoring award, which, it claims, has not been overtaken by the later agreements. The award says no worker can be compelled to work over the new year break. The national organiser of the MUA, Mr Michael O'Leary, said Patrick knew that, at the very least, the issue of New Year's Eve was ambiguous. The enterprise agreement was silent on the question of New Year's Eve and the company was relying on a provision which said labour had to be guaranteed on 365 days a year. He had written to Patrick on December 18 to ask for clarification. In response the company had "run off to the commission". He denied suggestions that the union had prevented members from working the new year shifts. A NSW branch leader, Mr Jim Donovan, said the company had been "arrogant" in rostering people to work instead of calling for volunteers. "If they had gone about it in a sensible way instead of the old master-servant [approach] then some of them [MUA members] might have been volunteers," Mr Donovan said. He insisted the branch did not instruct workers to stay away but the Patrick spokeswoman claimed a union official had been "in the car park" at Port Botany on New Year's Eve. Mr Terry Buck, the secretary of the Fremantle branch of the MUA, accused the company of a "heavy handed attitude" and said the commission's order could not stop "a spontaneous action by members of the union". He denied that the branch had advised members to stay away. He said he had advised three members who had called him that "if you need to have the time off, you have to find a mechanism by way of whatever leave provisions" are available. This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." end ============== Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html The Year 2000 Bug - An Urgent Sustainability Issue http://www.peg.apc.org/~psutton/grin-y2k.htm
