From Vigilance Bulletin No. 47, July 19, 2010

Kevin Rudd out, Julia Gillard in . . . and only the mining companies win
An elected leader of a rich parliamentary democracy is undermined by a multi-million dollar campaign run by multinational corporations. That leader is then ousted by party colleagues in a parliamentary coup. Once in power, the new leader quickly moves to agree to the demands of the multinationals. No, this is not the left-wing script for a Michael Moore movie. This is exactly what happened in Canberra last month. . . .

US Longshore workers blockade Israeli ship
On June 20, an Israeli Zim line ship docked in Oakland on the U.S. West Coast was blockaded for 24 hours. This action was in response to the Israeli army’s May 31 attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that left nine people dead and dozens injured. . . .

POAGS Melbourne death leads to 24hr stoppage
On the morning of July 14, Steve Piper was killed at P&O Automotive and General Stevedoring (POAGS) Appleton Dock, Melbourne. By midday, work at all 15 POAGS ports had shut down for 24 hours. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 46, June 14, 2010

Israel army attacks Freedom Flotilla
On the morning of May 31, Israeli commandos murdered nine pro-Palestinian activists after boarding the “Freedom Flotilla” of ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip. The ships that were carrying 10,000 tons of aid (including food, medicine and building materials) and around 700 activists from over 30 countries, were boarded in international waters 60 kilometers off the Israeli coast. . . .

Swedish dockers boycott Israeli ships
The Swedish Dockworkers Union (Svenska Hamnarbetarförbundet) are set to launch a week long boycott of Israeli ships and cargo in protest against the deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. . . .

DP World Botany Labour Review: the good and the bad
DP World (DPW) Botany’s long running labour review looks set to be finalised on June 16. MUA members will vote on a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that offers 24 new permanent operations jobs, three new maintenance jobs and a new roster for 48 operations employees. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 45, May 19, 2010

Greek workers say: “We won’t pay”
On May 5, Greece was paralysed by a massive general strike, the fourth in recent months. Half a million workers took to the streets to protest the Greek parliament’s adoption of a brutal austerity program, part of the 110 billion euro ($155 billion) “rescue” package for Greece. . . .

Beware the “Iron Man”
When Tony Abbott says he is Australia’s political “Iron Man”, he is not referring to triathlons or stupid comments about women doing the ironing. Abbott is looking to emulate Britain’s “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher – the Conservative who led a “free market revolution” and gutted trade unions. . . .

DPW selection criteria
Fair, consistent and transparent? The DP World (DPW) national selection criteria policy is anything but. When seniority only accounts for 10% of all selection points in this policy, it is grossly unfair. It must go. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 44, February 28, 2010

MUA delegate Bob Carnegie removed from offshore job
MUA delegate Bob Carnegie was told this February that he was “not required back” on the Ensco 7500 rig. He has been effectively sacked by Chevron, who hired the rig to find North West Shelf gas deposits. . . .

Dublin dockers “victory” leaves little to celebrate
The long-running dispute at Ireland’s Marine Terminal Limited (MTL) is finally over. After Irish dockers spent 111 days on strike and a further five months out of work, only eleven of the 30 or more dockers made redundant will get their jobs back. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 43, September 30, 2009

MUA officials reshuffled – and not an election in sight
The retirement of national officials Jim Tannock and Rick Newlyn has lead to a reshuffle within the MUA hierarchy. These moves occurred two years into the officials’ four-year term, yet no elections took place. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 42, July 20, 2008

Fremantle wharfies fight retrenchments – and WIN!
Wharfies at DP World Fremantle have fought off the company’s push to make the workforce pay for the current economic downturn. A 24-hour stoppage on May 18 and a two and a half week campaign to make the terminal the safest site in Australia have stopped planned compulsory redundancies. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 41, May 21, 2008

DP World Botany gets away with economic blackmail
Economic blackmail works – just ask DP World management at Port Botany. And they got away with it without so much as a hint of an MUA fightback. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 40, March 31, 2008

Why should WE pay for THEIR economic woes?
DP World Sydney plans to cash in on the current economic downturn with redundancies, roster tampering and four hour shifts for casuals. But why do we have to suffer in order to bolster their profits? . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 39, November 3, 2008

DP World Botany EA: Now it is crunch time
MUA members at DP World Port Botany are going to vote on their new Enterprise Agreement (EA). Members have to ask themselves not just what the new EA contains – but assess if it's the best deal we can get and if it meets our short and long-term needs. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 38, September 9, 2008

DP World EA: What we will end up with and what we need
The current DP World Enterprise Agreement (EA) expired on June 30, 2008. Negotiations are slowing drawing to a close. So what can we expect from this EA – and will it meet our needs? . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 37, November 21, 2007

Vote Labor ahead of the Coalition – put Labor to the test
This Saturday November 24, it is essential that we all vote for Labor ahead of the Liberal and Nationals. Howard’s government has to be replaced by a Rudd Labor government. Then can we put Labor to the test. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 36, October 22, 2007

John Howard – after 11 years, it’s time to go!
Here are just some of the crimes that John Howard and his Liberal / National Coalition government have committed against us in their eleven years in office. . . .

Vote for a Rudd Labor government . . . what choice have we got?
The cold hard fact is that these elections will either see the Coalition re-elected or the Labor Party win office. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 35, September 17, 2007

Never mind Howard – here comes Peter Costello
Don’t let his pixie ears fool you. Peter Costello is a man whose deeply conservative politics and pathological hatred of trade unions are as bad – if not worse than – John Howard’s. And one way or another, Costello will eventually lead the Liberal Party. . . .

Union donations to the Labor Party: value for money?
Tucked away in the latest Maritime Workers Journal (page 24-5, Winter 2007) is an article about the huge donation MUA leaders are giving to the Labor Party. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 34, July 30, 2007

Australia’s Rich 200 getting richer by the minute
Have you seen the benefits of Australia’s 15 year economic boom yet? Australia’s richest 200 have. . . .

Where has the Labor and union “left-wing” gone?
Kevin Rudd talks about throwing out WorkChoices while planning to keep its anti-worker provisions in place. So you would expect the Labor and union left-wing to call him to account, right? Wrong. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 33, June 4, 2007

Howard pretends to make WorkChoices “fairer” . . .
John Howard introduced his WorkChoices amendments into Parliament on May 28. They include a so-called “Fairness Test” – that “fair” compensation be provided for giving up overtime, penalty rates and other conditions. In reality this “test” is a fraud. . . .

. . . while Labor backflips on WorkChoices & AWA repeal
Labor leaders Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard like to talk a lot about throwing out Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) and WorkChoices “lock, stock and barrel”. Unfortunately the reality of current Labor policy is very different from their rhetoric. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 32, May 14, 2007

MUA 2007 elections. April 30 to June 14
This year’s MUA elections have seen national officials Paddy Crumlin (National Secretary) and Jim Tannock (Deputy National Secretary) get elected unopposed. . . .

Elect better officials - YES! But is that enough?
Taking on the boss and defending our rights and conditions.We all want the best officials for the job. So how do we select them? . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 31, February 21, 2007

Robert Coombs: Bump me into parliament
Last year Santa came early to the house of Sydney MUA Branch Secretary Robert Coombs. . . .

From Vigilance Bulletin No. 30, October 23, 2006

Who’s afraid of a 24-hour general strike?
The latest Sydney MUA Maritime Unity (No. 6) editorial takes aim at those who advocate 24-hour strikes against Howard’s “WorkChoices”. . . .

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