James Vassilopoulos
"If you do not fight for anything, you lose the whole lot" was the key lesson for Nigel Gould, secretary-treasurer of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union at Weipa, after leading the fight against the multinational Rio Tinto, owner of the Comalco bauxite mine there.
In the 18 months since the dispute began (October 13, 1995), union membership has almost doubled.
The dispute centred on individual contracts and the extra pay which non-union workers on individual contracts received compared to unionists in a collective bargaining agreement. The pay difference amounted to a bribe for workers to accept individual contracts. Most workers left the union.
Only 78 workers in the union went on strike.
Today unionists have recorded some big successes against Rio Tinto. During the height of the dispute in November 1995 only 75 workers — about 17% of the 440-strong work force — were in the union. Today, of a reduced work force of 330, 150 are union members — 45% of the work force.
Mal Loftes was one of the workers who in 1995 left the union and went for an individual contract. This is what the then opposition leader, John Howard, said about Loftes:
"He has spoken of the change that has come over his attitude to his employment after he had signed the contract and of how his contribution to the company was valued more highly as a result and how he felt he was making a contribution to the future of the company ... And when I listened to that truck driver in Weipa, I reflected to myself that I was listening to the voice of the future."
Loftes is now in the union. The voice of the future is one of collectivity and unionism. Loftes says, "Without the backing of the union, then you really are heads in the chopper".
Gould explained why people have started to join the union again. He told Green Left Weekly, "The people [on individual contracts] are just starting to hurt". Through the yearly renewal of individual contracts and six monthly assessments, "Some are getting pay rises and others are not. The honeymoon is now over."
The yearly renewal of contracts means that many workers are very insecure about their jobs, and this has driven them back to the union.
Looking back to the equal pay for equal work judgment by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, Gould believes the judgment was " a double-edged sword". The decision gave the unionists equal pay to those on individual contracts, but then equalised the conditions, which meant that unionists could work 12 hour shifts now.
Gould talked about how other workers involved in other disputes have learned the lessons of the Weipa dispute. For example, workers currently on strike at the Hunter Valley No. 1 mine have been in contact with workers at Weipa and have said they have fought individual contracts right from the beginning so as to be in a stronger position.
As Gould says, "Once people have taken individual contracts, it's very hard to get them back".
Historically, Weipa was a conservative town run by the Australian Workers Union, so it was easier for Comalco to introduce individual contracts there.
But trouble is brewing at Weipa. By 1999, Comalco intends to reduce its work force by 50%. This will have severe ramifications for the survival of the town Weipa itself.
Glen Batchelor, joint union organiser with a number of unions at Weipa including the CFMEU, AMWU and AWU, told Green Left Weekly that 150 jobs have gone over the past 12 months, and 50 more are to go by the end of this year. Already 500 people, from a population of 2500, have left Weipa.
So although the union has increased the percentage of membership, it has not been able to stop the loss of jobs and conditions.
According to Bachelor, unions "have to get back to the grassroots and organise workers". There is a battle going on for the souls of workers, and Comalco has huge funds available to win workers to its side. The company has education days or "brainwashing sessions" where it discusses noble words like team work, consultation and respect, but workers are seeing that the company is not delivering on its promises.
One of the ways of increasing membership further is to make workers aware that when they "are in the union, they have access to dispute procedures through the Industrial Relations Commission", according to Bachelor. With individual contracts, it is just up to the worker and the boss; the workers must represent themselves against the multinational.