The Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/news/0001/22/text/pageone1.html BHP dispute goes global Date: 22/01/2000 By MARK ROBINSON, TONI O'LOUGHLIN and MICHAEL MILLETT International unions are threatening to block BHP's $300million iron ore trade to Japan and South Korea in an escalation of the dispute over individual contracts. The move by the International Metalworkers Federation (IMF) to target BHP's export operations echoes the 1998 waterfront dispute, where overseas unions played a critical role. The threat comes as BHP battles on several fronts against unions in Australia, who will meet on Monday to consider a national 24-hour stoppage. In a briefing to affiliated unions around the world, the IMF said it had agreed to support Australian unions against BHP, which was taking advantage of the "extreme right-wing government's anti-union legislation to try and force workers in the north-west of Western Australia onto individual contracts". The IMF said it was enlisting the support of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITWF), which represents wharfies and seamen. The ITWF played a critical role in the 1998 waterfront dispute, using its power to organise an international blockade of the non-union port established by Patrick stevedores in Dubai. BHP has told Japanese steel mills that the union action is not interfering with its ability to ship iron ore overseas. But the action comes at a delicate stage in its negotiations with the big steel companies on new resource contracts. The mills, led by Nippon Steel, suspended talks this week after failing to make much progress on setting prices for the next financial year. In the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where the dispute is centred, workers at the Newman mine began returning to work last night after a four-day stoppage. They will be followed by their colleagues at Port Hedland tomorrow. In NSW and Queensland, 4,000 workers at BHP coalmines also began returning to work after a 24-hour stoppage which cost an estimated $5million in lost production. In an attempt to prevent further disruptions in its coal operations, the company took action in the Industrial Relations Commission to secure orders preventing any further stoppages for a month. Monday's union meeting, convened by the ACTU in Melbourne, will consider a push from Western Australia for national 24-hour strikes at BHP operations. The president of the Western Australian Trades and Labor Council, Mr Keith Peckham, said stoppages in other industries should also be considered. "This is going to be long and drawn out," he said. "We want support morally, financially and industrially." The five unions representing the West Australian iron ore workers yesterday filed writs in the Federal Court seeking to have BHP restrained from offering any further individual contracts at the Newman and Port Hedland operations. The unions claim BHP has breached the freedom of association provisions of the Workplace Relations Act, which outlaw discriminating against unionists - the same provisions relied on in the 1998 waterfront dispute. But BHP yesterday maintained it had not acted unlawfully. The Federal Workplace Relations Minister, Mr Reith, has declined to step into the dispute. But a spokesman yesterday rejected any comparisons with the 1998 waterfront battle, saying: "The unions are getting very excited but it's an entirely different sort of dispute." 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." -- 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
