Tug crews strike over job cuts
By Dave Andrews
FREMANTLE — Tug crews in Fremantle and Kwinana walked off the job for 36 hours on February 21 to protest against threatened job losses.
The strike, by members of the Maritime Union of Australia, came after Adsteam Marine announced plans to retrench deckhands by the end of the week. This would mean the loss of more than 20 jobs in Western Australia, part of 94 employees Adsteam hopes to retrench nationwide.
The dispute has been simmering for 18 months, ever since Adsteam announced plans to reduce the crew on tugs from four to three. Leaving a crew of three on deck is a safety issue, particularly in rough weather and has already led the NSW Safety Manning Committee to reject Adsteam's plan.
Adding fuel to the fire, Adsteam is reportedly flying in engineers from Queensland to train for deckhand duties at a secret location.
Clay Frederick, Adsteam's CEO, said the changes will save his company $5 million. He threatened that if the MUA would not accept the cut, forcible retrenchments in WA and Queensland would start on February 26.