Beginnings of The Dispute
Australian waterfront productivity had been an issue of concern since the 1980s. Patrick Corporation sought to improve productivity by creating redundancies and reducing overtime entitlements for its permanent employees, as well as hiring more employees on a casual basis. The MUA (Maritime Union of Australia) was formed through the amalgamation of two unions: the Seafarers Union of Australia – the SUA, and the Waterside Workers Federation or WWF. The Maritime Union of Australia was born from this background and retained a heavy union presence on the waterside. There had been numerous allegations concerning union members and officials in relation to illegal activity, fraud, grafting and bully tactics.
At the time, it was mandatory that prospective employee had to be a card-carrying member of the MUA. The Howard Government sought to encourage a non-union workforce to compete against the MUA and made new legislative changes to bring this about.
After the legislative introduction of Australian Workplace Agreements, a number of stevedoring operators toyed with bringing individual contract workers into their workforces, but abandoned their plans in the face of strident union opposition and activism.
Read more about this topic: 1998 Australian Waterfront Dispute
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