the 7 big issues
a 4 year plan for:
Job Security
Job security and maritime security, permanency and casualisation,
terrorism and attacks on the union, all came under the job security presentation
alongside the union job register -- the Maritime Union System of Employment.
"Some of our rank-and-file here have been casual or semi-casual
for years," said Assistant National Secretary Rick Newlyn, identifying job security
as the key issue nominated by members.
"Enterprise negotiations are the only way to secure a path
to permanency. And we must have very definite steps. You are here because you
are the opinion makers; you're elected by your comrades in your enterprises
to represent them. We have to have the template, a common set of values that
every enterprise agreement will reflect."
Meanwhile Dean Summers, International Transport Workers' Federation,
Australia, outlined how the new maritime security measures would affect members.
"It's going to affect every one of us," he said. "Whether you
work on the ships or ports you are going to be affected by this ISP legislation
which all comes out from 9/11."
Summers said the big issue was access, not just for seafarers
who want to go up the road but also for port workers entering the gates.
"We've had some grave concerns about this new security legislation,"
he said. "It will lead to some sort of scrutiny of our past like what has happened
in the US and it could stop us going to work."
Working Conditions
Safety and super, a drug and alcohol policy, enterprise agreements,
family flexibility, redundancy and retirement were some of the issues that delegates
confronted in this workshop.
"Life is not just about work," said Deputy National Secretary
Jim Tannock. "Jobs are only one part of our life because the other important
thing is to make sure we secure our family life."
Tannock also stressed that extended hours of work, excessive
overtime, stress from lack of job security and casualisation, lack of control
of work allocation and inadequate superannuation were all impacting on working
families.
"We tie ourselves up in knots instead of focussing on some
of the big-ticket issues during enterprise negotiations," he said, introducing
the national EBA template. "Our single biggest issue today is not a wage increase
but jobs, jobs and more jobs for our members."
Finance & Rules
Tannock told conference that arrears, not lack of financial
status, were now the main problem with union dues. He called for conference
to endorse a special union dues account so members would not fall behind with
payments and union finances would remain strong. He also set out the proposed
rules updates to go to committee.
National Secretary Paddy Crumlin called on conference to follow
the Sydney Branch lead and introduce a union card to clearly identify financial
members in the workplace.
Union Growth
The fact that old jobs are shrinking and new jobs are largely
ununionised has prompted the union to look at new areas, new ideas and make
new alliances with old enemies. The decimation of jobs in shipping and stevedoring
by technology and globalism has resulted in moves into the largely ununionised
hydrocarbon industry with the Australian Workers' Union, alliances at home and
abroad with other transport unions, and the proposed blitz on non-union areas
such as pearling, recreational diving, charter boats, tourism and aquaculture.
"New industries call for new organising methods if the union
is to make its mark," said Assistant National Secretary Mick Doleman. "But if
we don't make our presence in these industries, amalgamation may be our only
other option."
This was no longer popular in the union movement.
"A new alliance with the AWU has opened real growth in the
hydrocarbon sector," said Doleman. "Oil companies can no longer play wedge politics
with the two unions agreeing to a demarcation and embarking on a joint recruitment
campaign. Hydrocarbons have a large non-unionised workforce for the union to
go after."
Doleman said falling membership and successive union deficits
had forced the union to shed officials. Where once 20,000 waterside workers
laboured in the ports of Sydney or Melbourne, there were now about 2,000 workers
in both ports.
Port Authority workforces are also down. The Port of Melbourne
has dropped from 1300 to 200 as work is contracted out and jobs automated. Towage
is declining, with ships using fewer or no tugs and crews of eight shrinking
to three.
In shipping, seafarers stood at 6,000 in 1991. There are 3,000
today. This is also due to technology, multi-skilling and a reduction in crew
sizes. Doleman cited the Bremen Maritime Institute Study which showed that by
the 1990s, only eight ships and 120 seafarers carried the same volume of cargo
that had required 100 ships and 4000 seafarers in the 1960s. In international
shipping, Australian seafarers cannot compete with foreign crew who are paid
as little as $US400 a month.
Between 1998 and 2002, the blue water fleet went from 67 to
54 as more single-voyage permits saw foreign ships carry 1.2 million tonnes
of cargo around the Australian coast. While this would improve with a change
of government, with companies offering to invest in shipping if cabotage was
strengthened and the opportunity of shipping LNG across the Tasman, or getting
a slice of the $30 billion LNG China shipments, the union could not depend on
it.
"We have 10,000 members in total," said Doleman. "That's not
a slash-your-wrist number but we need to consider what sort of resources we
need to go into the future."
Tony Maher, mining union, outlined why his union took on experts
from the ACTU's Organising Works. It was so successful that the union now directly
employs the main organisers.
" For eight years under the Howard Government we've had many
major disputes, two-year lockouts, one-year strikes," he said. "Our members
have had a go with mixed results, some wins, some losses and plenty of scoreless
draws.
"Before the Howard Government, we controlled the labour supply.
That's all changed. Now if they open a new mine it's opened on AWAs. And a new
mine opens at least once every year. They handpick people with anti-union backgrounds
who vote National or vote One Nation. What do you do about it? If you let that
process continue inevitably you have no union."
Union coverage was slipping. The miners decided to act and
the union contacted the ACTU Organising Centre.
Four organisers, including former wharfie Bernie Farrelly,
chose the targets. But they also involved the branches. When they pushed membership
at a mine up from zero to around 70 per cent and established a delegates' committee,
they handed over to the local branch official.
"We had a blitz at one mine, sent a team in and knocked the
joint over," said Maher. "Within a week we got 83 per cent cover."
The union now boasts six new branches, has hundreds of new
members and has doubled its investment in union dues.
"We're not a union that has been panicked into this," said
Maher. "We were financially strong. We've found a way doing it. It worked for
us and it can work for you."
It was resolved that the MUA jointly fund the Miners Unite
organising centre to organise in new areas.
John Allen, Transport Workers' Union, also addressed conference
on the need for unions to work together to reach out to people.
"We've got 380,000 people working in transport," he said. "And
while 48 per cent were unionised in the '90s, in 2003 it slipped to 37 per cent.
That is going to be the biggest task for ITF Australian unions to solve with
ACTU.
"What we should be looking at is finding non-union companies
out there and putting joint programs together. We need to look after men and
women in the transport industry, the conditions they work under. Let's improve
them together and, more importantly, let's put programs into place so we can
grow the union membership."
Bill Shorten, from the Australian Workers' Union, also spoke
of the importance of unions working together. His union is now in an alliance
with the MUA.
"Your union isn't large in numbers, but it is large in fight,"
he said.
"I don't believe there is any union in the country which symbolises
collective courage against adversity as much as the MUA does. Your issue of
foreign flag ships in Australian waters is an issue worth any amount of political
and legal pain because we are right and there is no way that any Australia should
ever participate in anything other than the fullest defence of Australian flag
shipping."
Campaigns
ITF Australia coordinator Dean Summers presented a visual history
of union campaigns going back to the 1950s, before outlining what lies ahead.
"The ITF is a vehicle," he said. "Something we can all use
to draw together all transport workers internationally. We can bring together
Australian transport unions to counter companies like Patrick who integrate
their entire transport strategy."
Organising
Anti-union governments, globalisation, deregulation of the
labour market, hardline employers and attacks on the rights of workers all made
organising the key to the union surviving and growing. On top of this, the cult
of the individual was diluting mateship, solidarity and political consciousness.
National Training Officer Eddie Seymour said these factors
made vital the need to defend jobs and conditions. Organising allowed unions
to defend workers' rights and was the key to growth and international solidarity,
putting rank-and-file workers in touch around the world.
Job meetings, branch meetings, monthly meetings and the annual
general meeting helped members organise. But the internet and websites were
yet to be fully exploited by members, who were urged to use email as well as
telephone trees, faxes, notices and word of mouth on the job.
Delegates worked in committees on the issues over two days
of conference before reporting back to the plenary with motions to go to conference
for further debate.
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