Issue # 1399      18 February 2009

Attack on Sydney Ferry workers

A serious attack on workers rights and of the use of non-union agreements on Sydney Harbour is aimed at creating a very dangerous precedent and threatens to undermine the conditions of over 500 Sydney Ferry workers.

Following the finalisation of the publicly owned JetCat service to Manly, the NSW government, through the Ministry of Transport, has allowed Bass and Flinders Cruises to operate a fast ferry between Manly and Circular Quay. The tender process put in place by the government did not require the tenderers to collectively bargain or to pay the correct rates of pay within the industry. In fact zero standards were required within the tender and protection of workers’ conditions were never considered in this whole process.

This was despite several meetings with the Minster, David Campbell, urging decent standards to be put in place. The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) met with Bass and Flinders initially in relation to their operation and the only bottom-line position the union put to the company was that it could not move off the base rate of pay for commuter ferry workers in the harbour.

The union also stated that it required a collectively bargained agreement. After Bass and Flinders received MUA’s initial draft proposal and was questioned about some serious safety concerns, they informed the union that they had registered a Greenfields Agreement. This use of WorkChoices has shut the union out of negotiations. Further the agreement provides for a 25% cut to the base rate and a 20% cut in leave.

The position put to workers was; “This is the agreement – take it or leave it”! So much for WorkChoices being dead. The impact of a non-union private operator at this current time is particularly dangerous because the public ferry system is being benchmarked against private operators in a market testing exercise.

If a private operator can successfully come in and slash wages by 25 % it is clearly going to be an enticement for other unscrupulous employers to enter the fray and tender for the entire ferry service on the basis of non-union WorkChoices wages and conditions.

As a result the MUA has established a daily community assembly at number 2 Circular Quay. While maintaining a presence in the morning and afternoon, the MUA requests the assistance of comrades for the afternoon activity which commences around 3:30 pm every afternoon.

Any solidarity support that could be offered in terms of people at the community assembly from 3:30 pm daily would be greatly appreciated.

The MUA also requests that unions make it known to contacts in the state government that this poor decision needs to be reversed and government intervention is required in this instance to ensure the rights of workers are preserved.

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