Solidarity on Sydney docks with unionists under attack

Workers, students and union activists gathered at Sydney’s docks on 30 April in support of workers fighting Patrick Stevedores. In a feat of industrial acrobatics, Patrick has subleased part of its Port Botany terminal to its parent company Qube in a bid to bypass the enterprise agreement recently struck with the Maritime Union.

The move is the thin end of a wedge the company thinks it can use to break the union on the docks. As a Patrick worker told Red Flag at the protest, “It’s not just about the Patrick terminal, it’s about the entire port and undermining the conditions of everyone that works here. We found out in December that Patrick’s, which is once again owned by the deplorable human being Chris Corrigan, who in 1998 attempted to smash the waterfront, is having another crack”.

In response to action by the union, Patrick has stood down part of its workforce, and is threatening them and the MUA with large fines. Meanwhile, Corrigan’s mates at the Australian Financial Review print the bosses’ lies that this is “one of the silliest industrial disputes in Australia” while hinting at their real concern: “All rail freight in and out of Patrick Port Botany has now stopped. Millions of dollars lost and our rail terminal at a standstill”. Workers have the power to win, but solidarity is needed.

As a representative from the Redfern Waterloo housing committee said at the rally, “When we asked for help, it was the MUA who answered our call and were standing with us in numbers as we fought for housing in Waterloo, and so here I am returning the solidarity shown to me and my struggle”.

Details of future solidarity actions be found at the Maritime Union of Australia – Sydney Branch Facebook page.