Revolution Within

A new economy, a new means of production are set to revolutionise the union as we know it

Spiralling legal fees, shrinking membership and a $.1.5 million deficit are behind a revamp of the union.

After a soul searching report from commissioned by National Secretary Paddy Crumlin, the union is about to be turned on its head.

Chief among the key recommendations of the report by Michael Crosby of the ACTU Organising Centre is the implementation of the unions@work strategy. This will centre the power engine of the union back on the shop floor with the delegates.

Officials will no longer spend their lives flying around the nation to the rescue of members on the job. Their role is a support one for the branch and delegate structure.

Empty floor space in the CBD union rooms is to be rented out, recruitment drives to invigorate membership to begin in regional unionised centres, casualisation to be countered, email, not mobile phones to be a major organising and communication tool, computer skills upgraded, wages frozen, teleconferencing and relocations to reduce airfares, direct debit to fuel financial membership.

"Union officials think they must put on their shiny armour and get on the white horse," said Crosby "This is not the way it's done. Officials are doing so much they're going to kill themselves.

"I have great respect for you and the organisation you've got," he said. "But you face very serious problems and need to take very radical steps to survive. The MUA is always going to be at the top of the government's most hated list."

In preparing his report Crosby examined the audited accounts of the union for the last four years, together with a range of printed material such as National Council minutes, magazines, reports and so on. He then interviewed officials and staff.

"The MUA for its size is an incredibly rich union, probably the richest in the country. But my analysis shows that if we change nothing and let the deficit increase at the current rate, the assets will run down the cross over by 2007. That's the worst case scenario," Crosby said.

In his financial report to council National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said the union had achieved overall surpluses on occasions due to the appreciation or sale of union property assets. But like the family home, while property assets increase the overall financial health of the union, they were not available for the use of the union and membership for operational and organisational purposes because they are essential to our day-to-day living.

But the problem does not all lie within. Globalisation and consecutive conservative government have bloodied workers and their unions. But while the weak have fallen, those who have stood together have only been strengthened by adversity.

"The Howard Government signalled a qualitative change in industrial relations in Australia, with the MUA bearing the brunt of many of the anti-union attacks," said Crumlin. "Legal fees mushroomed, the Patrick lockout incurred massive costs and the attempt to scuttle Australian shipping has forced the union to expend resources far in excess of income."

"Costs were compounded with actions protecting unfair dismissals, prosecutions in the Federal Court under the Workplace Relations Act and the Trades Practices Act and other legal work including combating AWAs and the general offensive against us by the Liberal/National state governments as well as federally.

"Our active defence was essential and remains the principled political and industrial approach to take in ensuring our union's survival. Our committed and determined militancy earned us the great admiration of the trade union movement and the wider trade union movement has subsequently adopted many of the legal and industrial strategies of the MUA."

But the ACCC fines and litigation cost millions of dollars in the Geraldton and Burnie Port Authorities cases, financial support for the Lindsey Tanner FOI proceedings against the federal government, the OH&S case against Patrick, numerous unfair dismissals and the Federal Court challenge against the use of single voyage permits, not to mention the 1998 mass sackings, have all taken their toll on union finances.

Democracy too is expensive. The union fully funded the extensive consultation and process of policy making leading up to the important Patrick EBA, including airfares, accommodation and expenses for up to 70 delegates.

It was in the face of these enormous challenges that the National Secretary called on the ACTU Organising Centre, asking it to review the union's operations with a view to assisting the National Council in the implementation of the unions@work and addressing financial issues.

unions@work

The key elements of the unions@work report are:

• Strength in the workplace

• Growth in new areas

• Technology for the times

• A strong union voice in the workplace

"The biggest thing that struck me everywhere I went was that you have not only lost one generation of delegates in the 80s but two," Crosby reported. "This is a serious problem with this union."

Technology & Global Forces

Technology too, will play an important part in the future of the union. The recent history of the union is one of a rapid contraction of the workforce as new means of handling cargo and manning ships are developed. That is likely to continue. Shipping numbers are down and will continue to decline. New technology in tugs have reduced those crews.

Ships will continue to be operated under FOCs to the detriment of Australian seafarers. SVPs and CVPs will continue to grow under current government policy. Indeed, the fact that BHP appears ready to divest itself of its shipping capability after a century is a good example. The union must plan on the basis that employers will keep up the pressure to downsize, outsource and casualise their workforces - all with the aim of improving profits and returns to shareholders and management.

Unions that survive their hostile environment need to build their activist base and encourage their members to have the skills and commitment to play a major role in the operation of their union. They need to recruit and grow while taking advantage of new technology.

Media & PR

They need to have a strong image in the mind of their members and the public generally through the use of its own internal means of communication and the mass media generally.

The one area where the report called for greater outlay was media, recommending the mailout of the Maritime Workers' Journal to members' homes and commending the publication as a quality read and educating tool.

Skills & Training

Besides membership loss over the decades the Crosby Report noted other problems that can be righted. Lack of training among officers and staff. Few officers have received any training whatsoever. The report clearly identified that we have some of the most gifted people in the Union movement. But skills must be further developed for officers to keep pace. In the future all new officials will be required to gain competencies identified to being essential for the position before beginning any organising activity.

Amalgamation

Amalgamation as the way to solve the union's problems was considered by the report. But Crosby warned this is no substitute for the MUA restoring its financial viability.

Union Dues

Firstly the report recommended the union makes union dues automatic and painless by direct debits and by ensuring members are financial.

Many seafarers still pay in cash at the office -- an unsafe and labour intensive practice.

"Lowering the rate of unfinancial members ensures the qualities of sharing and co-operative effort that underpins our proud history is maintained," said the National Secretary.

"Officers will take the time to ring each of the unfinancial members and seek to get them paying an appropriate rate of dues. The small number of unfinancial members will be approached personally to seek their help in getting the union onto a sound financial footing so that it can do its job.

"Members should be mobilised in following up those who are unfinancial. That too will be a priority -- not simply on the basis that the union needs the money but rather that the Union needs the support of every single one of its members.

Membership books, cards and medals will be used to identify financial members.

The deferral of the passing on of the GST on union dues greatly contributed to the last financial years deficit. (See new dues,Notices p34

Cut Backs

Another of the more controversial recommendations of the report was an immediate reduction in branches, union officials and staff.

The MUA has an officer to member ratio of about 1 to 390 members, much higher than average union ratio of 1 to between 1000 and 1500 members. Many British unions, for example, having ratios of 1 to 3000 members.

Council did not accept this in the short term.

"As a national organisation covering maritime workers wherever they are employed we must have officers placed in regions like Tasmania or South Australia - or even for that matter in the Northern Territory," said Crumlin.

"National Council therefore determined that due to the large numbers of officer reductions in recent years and the demands placed on our union to develop a more participative and effective organisational model, there would be no further reductions at this stage."

Dean Summers position in WA will be filled by rank and file stevedoring member Keith McCorriston as Dean moves to Sydney to take over from Trevor Charles as ITF Coordinator.

Otherwise the union will take advantage of natural attrition in the future, by not replacing officers and staff as they retire or move on to other employment.

National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said the point was not about taking resources out of the union. Obviously if the union returns to surplus more resources can be directed back to the support of members, the basis of what the MUA stands for, protecting and helping maritime workers.

As a first step National Industrial Officer Rod Currie who covers the hydrocarbon industry will be relocated to Darwin. This will save thousands in airfares across the 3,000 kilometres spanning the continent while at the same time strategically positioning a key organiser in an area of potential membership growth.

Office Rentals

Another recommendation of the Crosby Report already being implemented is cost savings by renting out empty space. Detailed architectural advice has been sought so that the National and NSW offices of the union can co-locate on a single floor of the Sussex Street building. The floor vacated is then being leased out with a substantial rental releasing funds to the operating budget of the union.

"But space will be allocated for retired members, who are an important part of the culture and operation of the union," said Crumlin.

The Victorian, Fremantle and Brisbane offices are also large. Professional property valuers will be engaged as a matter of urgency to determine what should be done with the site to ensure that it plays its part in building the survival of the union.

All Branches should investigate ways in which they can maximise the return from the property they currently occupy.

Legal Bills

But the biggest bill crippling the union at the moment is legal costs.

"History generally shows that legal victories not backed with effective industrial action or at least a perception of power in the workplace, rarely lead to a clear victory for the union," said Crumlin. "The pockets of our opponents are so deep, lawyers so expensive and the avenues of appeal so vast, that legal solutions tend to be very expensive indeed.".

The union and its legal officer are now developing guidelines on when litigation will proceed. And Counsel will never be briefed without the written approval of the National Secretary.

Where possible industrial solutions will be sought and the strategic importance of a case assessed during consideration of legal action.

In some cases members will be asked to levy themselves in order to fund the case and if the case is for the benefit of a single member, that member may be asked to make some contribution to the legal costs.

"The union has the benefit of experienced legal officers and briefs some of the best legal advisers in the country," said the National Secretary. "They are generally extremely sympathetic to the union cause. But the simple fact is that the union is no longer financially strong enough to take on any battle, irrespective of the cost. In that respect, we are no different from any other union in the country."

But the Crosby Report is not just about finances its about the future of the union.

"What Kind of Union Should the MUA Become?"

The report notes that in the past all the unions which went to make up the MUA operated on very strong central leadership. They were fortunate in that they had a history of having leaders of a very high calibre who were respected throughout the union movement.

Now the centralised system has gone. The Commission no longer plays a central role and industrial relations is enterprise focused. Work intensification and the downsizing of the workforce has left the delegates' structure neglected while national office is having great difficulty in attempting to bear much of the workload for the whole union.

Historically, on the wharves, before the impact of containerisation, delegates were the point at which control was exercised over the job. That control was absolutely necessary because of the impact of safety on the members working the ship.

Every gang at a hatch elected a delegate and those delegates who had been trained exercised more control over the job than did a foreman. The union put a great deal of effort into educating and promoting delegates whether by means of involving them in campaigns, education sessions or meetings at the union office.

Similarly, the Seamen's Union had delegates for each section of the ship's crew and again these delegates tended to be extraordinarily knowledgeable, not just in relation to the provisions of their award but also in relation to politics and union affairs generally.

It was not about delegates initiating action on their own behalf. Rather, the unions prided themselves on the quality and clout of their leaderships. These were unions with a group of official's intent on delivering for their members. With the union office five minutes away from the wharves, wharfies in particular expected the official to be on site every day and to fix whatever problem came up. Indeed, if the delegate didn't call the union, then the employer would.

Both unions consciously aimed to involve a very large number of members in the work of the union. In particular, campaigns were used constantly to involve members and to build their loyalty to the union as a whole. That activity was reflected in the electoral process.

The MUA is a victim of its own success. It has lost two generations of delegates. Further, the report identified that a culture has grown up where members consider good conditions and pay as a right to be enjoyed and delivered to them by the officials, rather than something that must continue to be fought for.

unions@work demonstrates that the most successful unions are those which depend on high levels of membership activity.

It is for this reason that employer de-unionising efforts usually centre around an attack on the union's delegates -- promoting, retrenching or sacking them.

The report identified that the trade union movement needed to guard against falling into the trap of setting itself up as a classic third party divorced from its members. Any failure to fulfil member expectations will lead to members blaming the union officials - rather than reflecting the true nature of the power relationship.

The first question for the maritime worker must always be - "Have you raised this problem with the boss yourself?" If they haven't even done that, then they are surely not serious about it. The next is, "Have you taken this up with your delegate?"

The report believes that the Patrick negotiations just completed were a successful model and should be followed, if not at the same scale, in every enterprise agreement.

The National Secretary will divest himself of any direct industrial responsibilities. His job is to lead the national staff as a team, ensuring officers are capable of taking over each other's responsibilities when the need arises.

IT Strategy & MUSE

Our IT strategy, too, is crucial -- particularly the use of the Internet and new website to keep the delegates and members better informed. The new website will also provide the basis for the next stage of the implementation of the Maritime Union System of Employment designed to actively assist all casual and unemployed members into jobs or more permanent jobs. Together with the new membership system that is integral to identifying job opportunities for members, the Union has outlaid nearly $300,000 on the MUSE strategy.

Recruitment

In light of the Crosby Report Council also focussed on what new areas the union could seek to recruit members.

Pearl divers in the North West are ununionised, generally poorly treated and some work has been done in terms of getting them interested in joining the union. There are up to 1,000 potential members.

So too the tourist sector in North Queensland, particularly in the diving industry, with charter boats employing at least 1,000 potential members at any one time. And while the union has coverage over workers in Sydney Harbour, there are very few members amongst some 500 people working on tourist boats.

Aqua culture workers generally also need to be organised, particularly in light of the work done in the South Australian branch with the abalone shipping venture.

The Crosby Report and national council resolutions were endorsed unanimously at the annual general meeting of the union held around the coast in September.

Special guests at National Council were Tony Maher, General Secretary CFMEU Mining and Energy; Dave Morgan, President NZ Seafarers' Union, Trevor Hanson, Secretary NZ Waterside Workers' Union, Terry Snee AIMPE, Fred Ross, AMOU and Arch Bevis, formerly shadow minister for Industrial Relations.

The full council report and resolutions may be viewed on the MUA website in the members only section at www. mua.org.au.