The Australian http://www.news.com.au/national/ Corrigan pockets reform profits By MICHAEL BACHELARD 29apr99 SHIP owners yesterday criticised Patrick stevedores chief executive Chris Corrigan for delaying cuts to stevedoring charges flowing from last year's bitter and protracted waterfront dispute. The criticism came after Mr Corrigan told ship owners in Melbourne that Patrick was pocketing the extra profits, resulting from reduced labour costs and the subsequent enterprise agreement, to pay for its expenses during the dispute. "We spent $70 or $80 million last year in hard cash achieving those reforms," Mr Corrigan told the occasionally testy audience from the Australian Chamber of Shipping. "Would you be rushing out day one, day two or month three to pass those prices on? ... It's not unnatural we would try to recoup some of that, particularly while our principal competitor (P&O Ports) is battling with our friends at the union." Pressed by John Lines, the chief executive officer of shipping line ANL, on when ship owners would see the financial benefits of reform, Mr Corrigan said: "Soon, very soon." But Australian Peak Shippers Association president Frank Beaufort was sceptical, saying later he thought stevedoring prices would fall "when Nelson gets his arm back". "We have received no benefit whatever, not a bloody cent, from waterfront reform and I would suggest we'd see no benefit this calendar year," Mr Beaufort said. He also expressed cynicism at Mr Corrigan's motives for seeking reform, saying he was not committed to the industry. "Chris Corrigan is a banker ... he is in the business to make money. My guess would be that by the end of next year he would put (Patrick) up for sale and take the money and run." Mr Lines said shipping companies, importers and exporters also had lost millions of dollars as a result of the waterfront dispute, and Mr Corrigan's assurances were not good enough. Most ship owners had seen the confrontation as a necessary component of reform on the waterfront, and were prepared to bear the costs "on the basis they would see cost reductions". Many ship owners are renegotiating their contracts with Patrick for the next 12 months or two years. They say Patrick has not offered lower charges and, in some cases, has indicated increases. Mr Corrigan said later that Patrick had regained about $20 million of its costs since implementing its reforms. When P&O implemented its own reforms, expected soon, "competitive pressure" would start to bring prices down. "That will be a stimulant, yeah," Mr Corrigan said. "Clearly, if you've got someone there with high labour costs now, there is no immediate pressure on us to respond, but when they get their arrangements in place, there will be pressure on us to respond." ************************************************************************* 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." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
