Is your job safe?

"Occupational health and safety is so important, because you can have a strategy for job security, and jobs and conditions, and rosters and time off, but if you don't have safety right then the rest doesn't matter. The fact is, ours is a dangerous workplace."
-- Deputy National Secretary Jim Tannock

National Conference has resolved that the union fully utilise all aspects of OHS legislation to better enforce safety at a workplace.

Conference also called for the union to commit resources to the ongoing straddle campaign, the twist lock campaign, the mid lock campaign, the shipping campaign and the elimination of casualisation. The resolution also called for the union to reject all attempts by stevedoring companies to introduce tandem lifting practices.

As a first step in the campaign to legislate against manual twist locks, the Sydney branch has produced a video, starring Port Botany wharfie/actor Luke Dyer. As well as working as a supp at Port Botany, Luke works on Channel Seven's Auction Squad and Sydney Weekender.

The purpose of the video is twofold -- to demonstrate the dangers of working with manual twist locks, and to be used as part of a larger campaign to have the devices outlawed. The video depicts the dangers of the manual lock at work.

Sydney Branch Secretary Robert Coombs outlines on camera how the union, inspired by the success of the ILWU in the US, will lobby to have manual twist locks outlawed in Australian ports. At the same time, Luke demonstrates how to safely work with twist locks from the cage or by using a harness when working on container tops.

"It may cost you a bit of time, but it won't cost you your life, " says Luke.

Lashing and twist lock work is usually the job of supps or casuals, and the video will be a valuable education tool.

The film was produced by Luke's workmate and film maker Jason Harty with funding from Workcover and with the support of Patrick, Port Botany.

It was one of a dozen films shown at conference, commissioned by the union and put together by film makers based in Sydney, Melbourne and Broome.

Conference also resolved for the MUA to establish a film unit and to hold a competition to source talent within the union. The videos will be distributed to branches and a conference highlights video will be shown at stopwork meetings.