By Dave Andrews
FREMANTLE — In a significant victory for the union movement, the Western Australian state government has been ordered to pay costs to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) for the union's defence of its members in Geraldton.
The Liberal state government had encouraged the Geraldton Port Authority to withdraw labour from the port in favour of contracting stevedoring to anti-union labour hire companies. The decision by Justice Nicholson to reverse the GPA's action in July 1998 will force the restoration of traditional labour hire practices at the port and payment for lost overtime and other entitlements to the 30 wharfies affected.
Ironically, the decision is based on provisions of the Workplace Relations Act, legislation introduced by the federal Coalition government in its attempt to smash powerful unions such as the MUA.
Nicholson's order has been seen in legal circles as significant, as unions can now expect to launch costly legal action on behalf of their members without fear of bankruptcy. Previously, unions had baulked at such action in the knowledge that, even if they won in court, they would still face massive legal fees. This has always been to the advantage of employers and governments, who have relished opportunities to bankrupt unions.
John Coombs, national secretary of the MUA, warned employers that the decision meant they could no longer use contracting labour hire firms to smash unions and hard-won working conditions. Those who do "could wind up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and restructuring costs ... This decision draws a line in the sand for outsourcing in Australia.", he said.
Despite the union victory, the media are still portraying the MUA as the villain, the West Australian braying that the decision will cost taxpayers up to $500,000. But the public purse would be in a far healthier state if state and federal governments weren't hell-bent on breaking unions in the courts and in the industrial arena.