By Margaret Perrott
WOLLONGONG — The slogan of the old Painters and Dockers Union — Touch one, touch all — will be the message carried on May Day by members of the Eric Wicker Defence Committee, which was launched on April 7 at a meeting of 75 unionists and supporters.
Wicker is facing politically motivated charges of extortion six years after the alleged offences were supposedly committed. He was a union official with the Painters and Dockers at the time and worked closely with respected socialist and trade unionist, Stan Woodbury, who died in 1995.
At the meeting, John Rainford, national industrial officer for the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, outlined the bizarre way the case has unfolded.
Allegations by a shipping agent against Woodbury and another union official first appeared in 1992 in the Illawarra Mercury, but no police investigation took place until after Woodbury's death. In April 1997, a summons alleging extortion was served.
The coincidence of the Howard government pledges to "reform the waterfront", the massive propaganda campaign against the Maritime Union of Australia and the launching of this case is striking.
Peter Reith referred to the case in the media when he raised the question of "hold cleaning". As Wicker said, "It's nice timing."
The case centres on the practice of "fining it". This involves shipping companies paying the union when they have breached agreements by using shipboard crews to carry out work belonging to the dockside workers. It was a way of fighting ship owners who wanted a casual pool of labour for body hire, while workers wanted security of employment. When payments are made to unions which discover ship owners in breach, the money goes to unemployed unionists.
In the 1970s, the Sweeny Royal Commission upheld the legality of the practice and stated that work on foreign ships in Australian ports should be done by shore-based labour.
Rainford said, "Stan dies, and years later in 1997, when the dispute on the wharves is growing, Eric is summonsed. If this is not a set-up, I'll walk backwards to Bourke on broken glass."
The committee will continue to raise community awareness, raise funds and carry out research in an attempt to persuade the attorney general to drop the case. Members of the MUA, Port Kembla, have imposed a weekly levy on themselves in support.