By Jane Beckmann
and Alison Dellit
NEWCASTLE — Maritime Union members here employed by Patrick have a long struggle still ahead of them. Patrick's Newcastle manager, Chris O'Brien, has said repeatedly that he would close the facility rather than work with his former staff.
This is consistent with the approach by Patrick managers in the smaller ports, where it is expected that Patrick will cease operations.
Industrial relations minister Peter Reith has said that the redundancy package the government is offering is available only for "genuine" waterfront change and that the Newcastle workers may not qualify.
MUA Newcastle secretary Jim Boyle responded, "These blokes in regional ports like Newcastle, who have been productive and efficient, are going to be left on the scrap heap as a sign of spite, because Patrick and the government haven't got what they wanted".
Patrick, claiming "insolvency" of its shell "labour hire" companies, is likely to dodge the responsibility for paying redundancies.
Some of the MUA members have been working for Patrick for over 35 years, and will walk away with nothing but their superannuation, instead of the $80,000-$100,000 they are entitled to.
Younger workers will be left with high mortgages and no immediate prospect of making the repayments. The MUA has not yet discussed a strategy to fight for these entitlements.
But morale remains high on the MUA picket line, with plenty of support rolling in from other unions and the community. The MUA and supporters also held a spirited and vocal picket against the acting prime minister, Tim Fischer, when he visited to launch a new navy ship at Australian Defence Industry shipyard.
On April 17, Women of the Waterfront organised a 300-strong march from Carrington to the picket line. The march was followed by the inaugural meeting of WOW.
Many of the picketers are members of the mining division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, who have received much support from the MUA in the continuous industrial disputes in the Hunter Valley mines over the last few years.
Last week, Trades Hall Council launched the MUA fighting fund, to support MUA members and their families. The fund was started by a contribution of $10,000 from the council, and $10,000 from the Newcastle Workers Club.
These amounts join a previous $10,000 raised by the National Tertiary Education Union and smaller amounts by the Australian Union of Women, the Progressive Labour Party, Resistance and the Newcastle University Student Union. Food continues to pour in from local businesses and individuals.