By Dick Nichols
The latest Western Australian Maritime Union of Australia Rank-and-File Bulletin (number 3) is a special issue mainly devoted to letters from seafarers and retired MUA members. The issue provides a sharp insight into the issues that are troubling wharfies and seafarers.
Steve Best writes on the abandonment of the industry roster by a special national delegates' conference:
"Two months before this conference, every official stated that the roster was not negotiable. Just one week before the conference, Peter Reith, at a corporate function, stated that the roster was an outdated, archaic industrial practice that has no place in modern workplace relations. I never thought I would live to see the day when an MUA official would literally word-for-word agree with a Liberal industrial relations minister."
Retired member Jim Earle appeals to present-day MUA members to think carefully about the quality of the officials that they will elect this year: "Forget about the official that got you the grouse job and vote for someone who can help you and the membership get the organisation back on course, because it would seem to me the course being steered right now is reminiscent to that of the Titanic".
The Bulletin contains the open letter of the Dampier P&O wharfies who lost their jobs when the WA Liberal government replaced them with the casual labour hire outfit Western Stevedores. Their letter states: "Most of us now are unemployed, and will never be back in the industry. We gave everything to the union and yet the one time we needed them they simply deserted us."
Ian Bray, employed in the towage industry, strikes a note of caution:
"While I don't profess the election of a new leadership will have all the answers, I do know that working to release the decision-making powers from the leadership is the first step that needs to be taken. [It needs to be] replaced by a more consultative approach with the membership ... By achieving this, the union would improve in the area of communication, a key ingredient for any successful organisation. We would find that the membership would become actively involved ... and initiatives would be found to reduce the erosion of our conditions. Perhaps we may even see a reversal of the current trends."
Splitters and wreckers?
An especially interesting letter comes from Mike Barber. In it he strongly defends the WA MUA Rank-and-File from the charge of being "splitters and wreckers".
Acknowledging that the movement has "easily galvanised large sections of the rank and file who justifiably resent broken promises, back-downs and overall bad policy outcomes", Barber states that the rise of the movement would not have been necessary if the present MUA leadership enjoyed the confidence of the ranks.
Barber notes that the "WA MUA Rank-and-File cannot get its views published in the union's journal, and believes that its constructive message is not being listened to by the leadership, a leadership that should be listening, instead, it continues its internal bickering, with personnel engaged in ambitious position posturing, at the expense of its membership".
Barber concludes: "Contrary to the selfish and elitist opinions of the officers, constructive debate is fundamentally healthy which not only enriches, but ensures the continued future development of the rank and file. No organisation can survive by excluding or suppressing the views of its membership. Democratic centralism as is currently exercised by our present leadership is unproductive, destabilising, divisive and is absolutely undemocratic. Unity of the collective is the central ingredient of union development, not the dictatorial centralism presently practised.
"The current leadership will again have their ticket. Don't be fooled a second time. The recent mistake, of inaction by the members, culminated in the industrial and political isolation and subsequent resignation of the elected Joint National Secretary and other elected officials. The present sectarian style of leadership has greatly weakened the organisation and enabled employers to exploit the situation by seeking and achieving unrealistic outcomes previously considered unattainable."
The former MUA joint national secretary was Tony Papaconstuntinos. Papaconstuntinos spoke out in favour of more militant tactics in the phase of the Patrick dispute before the April 7 lockout last year. He presently works as an organiser with the Construction Division of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
[Copies of the bulletin can be obtained by writing to: PO Box 564, Rockingham, WA, 6168.]