By Ian Jamieson
BURNIE — For many, the lasting image of the APPM dispute will remain the widely televised clashes in which hundreds of pickets held out courageously against court-ordered police attempts to escort a handful of scabs into the plant. But equally vital to the success of the picket was a huge, voluntary organisational effort, without which the picket lines probably wouldn't have lasted three days, let alone three weeks.
Organising a round-the-clock picket for more than three weeks is a daunting task, requiring responses to a myriad of problems. This was particularly so at APPM, because the volunteer organisers had to learn from scratch. They had little or no previous experience in confronting the industrial, social, financial, family and personal problems that arise in a protracted industrial dispute.
All who participated in the pickets, in whatever role, freely acknowledge the sacrifice of the volunteers in the engine-room of the pickets, a union office metres from the gates of the giant paper mill. There were remarkably few organisational hiccups, a testimony to the team of volunteers who gave hundreds of hours of their time.
I recently spoke to Jenny, Wendy, Mary, John and Laurie, who were members of the APPM Relief Fund Committee, which did a lot of the indispensable organising for the picket. Alongside the Support Pulp Employees Committee (SPEC), which also did an admirable job handling public relations and organising child-care, the Relief Fund Committee was created to organise the pickets, distribute financial relief and cope with family and social problems.
Initially, Relief Fund members became involved when picket captains from around the mill nominated supporters to organise funds, produce a daily bulletin for the information and morale of the strikers and provide the food, water and other necessities for round-the-clock picketing.
Wendy says teamwork was the key to the committee's success. "At the beginning a lot of us hardly knew each other, but we learned to work in with each other, developing skills we didn't know we had."
Keeping the financial wolf from the door was important so that families wouldn't lose sight of the issues in the dispute. The committee set about organising debt moratoriums with the banks and financial houses. Distributing financial relief was also a massive task. Jenny says 762 APPM workers registered for relief. "Not all came to collect their $200 payments, as many fought pride in asking for money for their families. There were also some we distributed food to, given the desperate circumstances they faced."
Some of the financial relief work is still ongoing. Due to peculiarities in the shift system at APPM, some workers are iculty weeks after the return to work. "For instance", says Laurie, "C-shift only received $8 in their first pay packet after compulsory deductions taken out by APPM". As shift workers rotate on a 28-day basis, and mortgage and other financial commitments have piled up, the Relief Committee's fundraising tasks are continuing.
One of the main tasks during the strike was to distribute an enormous amount of food, says Mary. "In the end, the pickets always had a plentiful supply. Bread, milk and coffee were always in demand, and we must have had tons of hash browns. I bet those who were in the picket lines are still eating them in their sleep, along with the other standby, 'roo patties. A lot of food was donated by farmers, butchers and small businesses. The Seamen's Union was very generous."
As well as all this, the office volunteers sometimes had to drop everything and get out to link arms on the picket line. Jenny says thanks are due not only to the committee members but all who helped organise the pickets and all who supported the strike. She, like many others, believes the skills they learned will enable an experienced team to swing into action quickly, if that should be necessary again.
Laurie goes further, saying the teamwork and talents on display during the strike showed that the workers could probably run the mill better than the current bunch of managers. It might yet turn out that the APPM Relief Fund Committee, SPEC and the various unions have to gear themselves up for another picket in the not too distant future.