BY SUE BULL
MELBOURNE
The struggle between militant Victorian Australian Manufacturing Workers
Union officials and the AMWU national office took a dramatic turn on September
2.
By noon of that day, the elected state secretary of the union, Craig Johnston, had resigned, the picket line set up by Victorian officials had been disbanded, Denis Matson, whose sacking by national secretary Doug Cameron had led to the picket, had been appointed as a salaried officer of the Victorian branch and a new acting state secretary, Steve Dargavel, was appointed.
Under the rules of the union, if a state secretary resigns, the state council has the right to appoint an acting secretary. At the time of his resignation, Johnston had been suspended by the national office, and an acting secretary, Dave Oliver, imposed on the branch, against the wishes of the state council. Johnston's resignation thus allowed the branch to send Oliver packing.
Johnston tendered his resignation to a September 2 state council meeting, which then appointed Dargavel, as well as employing Matson and others. Representatives from the union's vehicle and technical and supervisory divisions joined Oliver in walking out of the meeting.
Only an hour or so later the Victorian police officially informed Johnston that he would not be charged regarding sexual assault allegations. Johnston said, I've always maintained my innocence and now I've been exonerated, but that had nothing to do with my resignation as state secretary. I'm committed to this branch and its members and my resignation means everyone can now get on with doing what they were elected to do.
After the state council meeting, the picket line was disbanded. All administration staff were rung and asked by Dargavel to return to work. Six out of about 20 returned to find that they could not get into computer networks and other services had been suspended. AMWU officials from other states had arrived in Melbourne at the request of the national office, and were attempting to gain entry to Victorian workplaces.
It didn't take long for the national office to respond to the state branch's actions. It called an urgent special national council for September 5.
The proposed agenda sent out for the meeting said that the picket line had cost the union about $1 million, a state of crisis existed in the Victorian branch and that an independent inquiry set up to investigate the Victorian branch and its officers some months earlier would continue. Cameron has also said that an internal investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse against Johnston would proceed, despite the police decision.
The proposed resolutions for the special national council included: Overruling all of the decisions of the September 2 state council meeting; appointing Oliver as administrator of the Victorian branch until June 30, 2003; making Oliver answerable only to the national council and Cameron; overruling all decisions made by Dargavel since September 2 and suspending the Victorian state council until June 30, 2003.
On September 4, the Victorian branch successfully sought an injunction from the Federal Court to stop the national council from proceeding.
Talk about corporate unionism, Dargavel commented to Green Left Weekly. We had no alternative but to go to the Federal Court. The state council decisions must have really upset Cameron's lot because they've completely overreacted. It's like they've gone berserk and started to make some really bad decisions. Even the judge couldn't ignore what they've done.
The injunction lasted until September 6, when the union was back in the Federal Court. According to Dargavel, the injunction has now been extended to a full trial for hearing in the week beginning September 9. The court also ordered the AMWU national office to give an undertaking to restore all the state branch's phones and computer systems. Dargavel is hopeful that the Federal Court will back the state branch.
Meanwhile, however, the AMWU national office pressed contempt of court charges against six state officials on September 3. All six Craig Johnston and Paul Wisniewski from the union's metals division and Lorraine Cassin, Jim Reid, Steve Rogers and Bob Yette from the printing division were accused of returning to the Elizabeth Street picket line after a court injunction outlawed it.
Dargavel told GLW that the charges set a precedent dangerous to all unionists. In many industrial disputes, bosses do get injunctions against picketers but it has been rare for them to proceed with charges. A union using such legal processes against its own members may encourage bosses to do the same. Dargavel also noted that if any of the six were jailed a real possibility it would be the first jailing of a unionist on such charges since building unionist John Cummins was jailed in the 1980s.
The contempt charges have been set for trial on October 28. At this stage the Victorian branch is considering a mass protest action around that time.
From Green Left Weekly, September 11, 2002.
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