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          Shipping Stevedoring Port Services Hydrocarbons Diving  Jul-Aug 2008 
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Shipping Campaign moves to CanberraBy MUA Shipping Division
An MUA delegation leaves for Parliament House on Monday, February 18, as the union steps up its campaign to stop John Howard sinking Australian shipping. Campaign co-ordinator Ric Newyln will lead the group in meetings with MPs, with crew representatives of the Yarra also travelling to Canberra for the two day lobby sessions. The union successfully won a Federal Court injunction to stop CSL laying off the MUA crew and selling the the Yarra on December 1 last year, arguing that the company intended to bring it back into the coastal trade under a flag of convenience with guest workers. This was the fate of the River Torrens, now trading on our coast under the Bahamas flag as the CSL Pacific. The court hearings are set to get under way in April. Meanwhile National Secretary Paddy Crumlin met with the Shadow Minister for Transport Martin Ferguson on February 6 over the government's policy of deregulating the coast. A further meeting with ACTU Secretary Greg Combet and all three maritime unions was held in Melbourne on Friday the 8th. "These meetings gave us the opportunity to background all the key people on all the issues related to CSL Pacific (formerly the River Torrens) and the Yarra," said Crumlin. "At both meetings we stressed our concerns over the rorting of continuous voyage permits and the introduction of guest labour into our domestic shipping industry." The union has called for an examination of freight rates set by Adelaide Brighton Cement who contract cargo of both vessels as well as raising questions over possible breaches of the migration and customs acts. "We've urged ALP MPs to question the government on these matters in parliament next week," said Crumlin. "We'll be there to watch and lobby for further opposition to the government shipping policy." The summer campaign has also included enlisting support from regional TLCs, politicians and the community. Newyln has also held meetings with workers at Adelaide Brighton Cement to ensure they are fully informed of the reasons behind the dispute.
For further information
Public Campaigns: You can view MUA's publicly available campaign information in a variety of ways. Please select one of our public campaigns indexes. |
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