BY SUE BULL
MELBOURNE —
The struggle between militant Victorian Australian Manufacturing Workers
Union officials and the AMWU national office took a dramatic turn on September
2.
By noon of that day, the elected state secretary of the union, Craig
Johnston, had resigned, the picket line set up by Victorian officials had
been disbanded, Denis Matson, whose sacking by national secretary Doug
Cameron had led to the picket, had been appointed as a salaried officer
of the Victorian branch and a new acting state secretary, Steve Dargavel,
was appointed.
Under the rules of the union, if a state secretary resigns, the state
council has the right to appoint an acting secretary. At the time of his
resignation, Johnston had been suspended by the national office, and an
acting secretary, Dave Oliver, imposed on the branch, against the wishes
of the state council. Johnston's resignation thus allowed the branch to
send Oliver packing.
Johnston tendered his resignation to a September 2 state council meeting,
which then appointed Dargavel, as well as employing Matson and others.
Representatives from the union's vehicle and technical and supervisory
divisions joined Oliver in walking out of the meeting.
Only an hour or so later the Victorian police officially informed Johnston
that he would not be charged regarding sexual assault allegations. Johnston
said, “I've always maintained my innocence and now I've been exonerated,
but that had nothing to do with my resignation as state secretary. I'm
committed to this branch and its members and my resignation means everyone
can now get on with doing what they were elected to do.”
After the state council meeting, the picket line was disbanded. All
administration staff were rung and asked by Dargavel to return to work.
Six out of about 20 returned to find that they could not get into computer
networks and other services had been suspended. AMWU officials from other
states had arrived in Melbourne at the request of the national office,
and were attempting to gain entry to Victorian workplaces.
It didn't take long for the national office to respond to the state
branch's actions. It called an urgent “special national council” for September
5.
The proposed agenda sent out for the meeting said that the picket line
had cost the union about $1 million, a “state of crisis” existed in the
Victorian branch and that an “independent” inquiry set up to investigate
the Victorian branch and its officers some months earlier would continue.
Cameron has also said that an internal investigation into the allegations
of sexual abuse against Johnston would proceed, despite the police decision.
The proposed resolutions for the “special national council” included:
Overruling all of the decisions of the September 2 state council meeting;
appointing Oliver as administrator of the Victorian branch until June 30,
2003; making Oliver answerable only to the national council and Cameron;
overruling all decisions made by Dargavel since September 2 and suspending
the Victorian state council until June 30, 2003.
On September 4, the Victorian branch successfully sought an injunction
from the Federal Court to stop the national council from proceeding.
“Talk about corporate unionism”, Dargavel commented to Green Left
Weekly. “We had no alternative but to go to the Federal Court. The
state council decisions must have really upset Cameron's lot because they've
completely overreacted. It's like they've gone berserk and started to make
some really bad decisions. Even the judge couldn't ignore what they've
done.”
The injunction lasted until September 6, when the union was back in
the Federal Court. According to Dargavel, the injunction has now been extended
to a full trial for hearing in the week beginning September 9. The court
also ordered the AMWU national office to give an undertaking to restore
all the state branch's phones and computer systems. Dargavel is hopeful
that the Federal Court will back the state branch.
Meanwhile, however, the AMWU national office pressed contempt of court
charges against six state officials on September 3. All six — Craig Johnston
and Paul Wisniewski from the union's metals division and Lorraine Cassin,
Jim Reid, Steve Rogers and Bob Yette from the printing division — were
accused of returning to the Elizabeth Street picket line after a court
injunction outlawed it.
Dargavel told GLW that the charges set a precedent dangerous
to all unionists. In many industrial disputes, bosses do get injunctions
against picketers but it has been rare for them to proceed with charges.
A union using such legal processes against its own members may encourage
bosses to do the same. Dargavel also noted that if any of the six were
jailed — a real possibility — it would be the first jailing of a unionist
on such charges since building unionist John Cummins was jailed in the
1980s.
The contempt charges have been set for trial on October 28. At this
stage the Victorian branch is considering a mass protest action around
that time.
From Green Left Weekly, September 11, 2002.
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