Weipa workers defend union rights

The battle against Comalco's anti-union drive has been led by the combined-union Weipa Industrial Site Committee. Green Left Weekly's JENNIFER THOMPSON spoke to committee's secretary, ANDY STRAHORN and CFMEU lodge secretary NIGEL GOULD about the dispute and the support they are receiving from across Australia. Strahorn said that for two years the committee had been trying to reach an agreement with Comalco but that "they just would not talk to us". He said that the unionists' demands were simple — equal pay for equal work — and that non-union workers doing the same job receive at least $15,000 more. Workers who sign individual contracts with Comalco are being given preferential treatment. Gould, a truck driver, said that drivers on individual contracts doing the same work under the same conditions receive an extra $20,000 per year. Strahorn said that those workers who signed individual agreements had done it for the money, and that, contrary to Comalco's propaganda, unionists were prepared to discuss changes in their work practices. Gould confirmed that the recent move to 12-hour shifts was acceptable to the strikers, as these could be worked over a 4-day week. If a collective agreement was reached with Comalco to pay the same rates as the individual contracts, Strahorn said "more than 50% and up to 80%" would return to the union. Gould said he didn't blame workers for signing contracts for a pay increase since they hadn't had one in five years and the cost of living in the isolated Cape York mining town was very high. Comalco has claimed $70 million worth of damages and the Supreme Court has issued 52 writs. Gould said he'd been served with one, along with 31 others who'd been unable to avoid the police. He said police had used the picket line as an opportunity to serve several writs at a time. While the establishment press has reported that Comalco has now promised to withdraw the writs if an agreement was reached, Gould was sceptical pointing out that Comalco had also said the writs would stay even if the strikers returned to work. The ACTU is negotiating for a return to work when Comalco agrees to: a enterprise agreement which pays union members equal wages for equal work with contract workers; that the wage rise be backdated two years (when individual contracts were first introduced); and that all damages writs be withdrawn. Gould said that two members of the strike committee were involved in the negotiations. On November 17, Gould said that Comalco was "really sweating" over a shipment of kaolin which was supposed to leave Weipa's port at the end of last week. One worker in the Kaolin plant had remained staunch and refused to sign an individual contract and the unionists are committed to maintaining the picket, said Gould. Strahorn was keen for people to understand the dispute and said that it was about workers' right to union representation. He said that unionists were motivated by the fact that young people coming into the work force shouldn't be forced to individually negotiate a contract with the boss. Gould emphasised that Comalco's push to de-unionise its work force was part of a much bigger plan given the probable location of its new $2 billion smelter at Weipa. He said the company's move to break the union was part of its "planning for the future" and that workers too had to fight against de-unionisation for the future. Strahorn said the striking workers had been surprised at the strong support from all around Australia; people have been phoning with encouragement to "keep going" and sending donations. Gould said that he'd been moved by the amount of support for the strikers: some people have made weekly contributions from their pension cheques and CFMEU lodges have sent in collections. Gould spoke of the important role being played by the CFMEU's John Maitland, ACTU leaders Bill Kelty and Jennie George and CRA workers in Bell Bay, in defending the right to collective bargaining. If the Liberals won government, he said, that right would be taken away and strikes like this one would be busted up Bjelke-Petersen style. Donations can be sent to the Weipa Strike Committee, PO Box 159, Weipa Qld 4874.
[More coverage on page 32.]