***Victory for Unifor stevedores as Sydney Ports Corp reverses decision
SYDNEY, NS, May 2, 2014 /CNW/ – The union workers responsible for securing cruise ships at port are celebrating as the sudden decision to replace them with non-union workers is reversed. This reversal comes days before a planned demonstration at the port by the workers, the labour movement and community.
Lana Payne, Unifor’s Atlantic Regional Director, applauded the efforts by all involved, including the Cape Breton Labour Council and the town council leaders who stood with the workers, who are members of Unifor, and demanded Sydney Ports Corp. reverse its decision and recognize the union rights and the collective agreement of the stevedores.
“If there is one place in the country where people understand the important role unions play in our communities and in our country, it’s Cape Breton,” said Payne. “This is a victory for these 12 workers, but more than that, it is a victory for the entire labour movement. We’ve shown that fighting back really makes a difference.”
The Sydney Ports Corp. had planned on replacing the stevedores with non-union workers, ignoring the fact that unionized stevedores had serviced the ports for more than 50 years. Several of the unionized stevedores had significant years of service at the facility.
The victory comes after a sustained campaign by their union, Unifor, the broader Cape Breton labour movement, with the solidarity from the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the support of the entire Cape Breton Regional Municipal Council. They hoped that their efforts would help them resolve the situation before the arrival of the first cruise ship on May 7.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing more than 305,000 workers. Unifor was formed Labour Day weekend 2013 when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions merged.
SOURCE Unifor
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***MUA says new terminal operator has poor IR reputation
Posted on May 3, 2014 by admin
The MUA has expressed concern about the Victorian Government’s selection of a stevedore with a “poor international reputation” for IR to operate a new third container terminal in the Port of Melbourne.The Naphtine government today surprised the maritime industry and unions by appointing a Philippines-based global stevedore for the terminal at Webb Dock.
The government chose a consortium of International Container Terminal Services Inc. and Anglo Ports Pty Ltd
The MUA’s national secretary, Paddy Crumlin, said that International Container Terminal Services Inc has recently been involved in labour disputes in the US and in Honduras.
“They have got a poor international reputation in industrial relations,” he said.
Crumlin, who is president of the International Transport Workers’ Federation and chairs its dockers’ section, said the MUA would work with the company to develop productive, efficient and safe work practices.
Crumlin said that having one-off terminal operators went against the industry’s preference for strong networks in logistic and distribution.
“We will work with them to optimise the standards, but it’s a surprising and a worrying development.”
The project marks ICTSI’s entry into Australia, but it already manages 30 port terminals in six continents.
Anglo Ports is an Australian company led by Richard Setchell, a former chair and CEO of P&O Ports worldwide.
Industry observers had seen Hutchison Port Holdings, which is part of Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa Limited, as the frontrunner in the tender.
Hutchison already has terminals in Brisbane and Sydney and adding an operation in Melbourne was seen as a crucial step in giving its Australian business critical mass.
The other other bidders in Melbourne were a consortium of ANL Container Line Pty Ltd and Macquarie Specialised Asset Management Limited , plus Qube Holdings Limited.
Victoria’s Minister for Ports, David Hodgett, said the project meant there would be three stevedores in Melbourne, with the existing operations of Patrick and DP World joined by the new operator.
Mr Hodgett said the winning bidder had addressed the commercial, environmental, community and amenity benchmarks established by the Port of Melbourne Corporation and its expert advisors.
The terminal would handle more than a million standard containers each year and concentrate on promoting off-peak truck movements to improve the efficiency of Victoria’s transport logistics and feed expanding supply chains.
ICTSI said in a statement that the new terminal included a 40-year lease and would give it a “competitive platform” for the development of its Australian business.
The head of ICTISI’s Asia-Pacific operations, Christian R. Gonzalez, said the $550 million project would deliver fully-automated operations from the gate to the quayside.
Work on the new terminal is expected to start later this year and be completed in late 2016, adding some 200 continuing jobs.
Source: Press Release
***Australian activists visit USA to consult on Chevron logjam
Posted on May 2, 2014 by admin
Trade unionists from the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and the MUA (Maritime Union of Australia) have arrived in the USA for an eight day fact-finding and link-building visit to address problems with the giant Chevron oil major.Shannon O’Keeffe, campaigns director for the ITF’s Sydney, Australia office and Will Tracey, assistant secretary for the MUA’s Western Branch, have travelled from Australia. They will be meeting with activists and community and trade union leaders throughout the San Francisco Bay Area who have been campaigning for justice at Chevron.
The visit follows the launch of an MUA/ITF campaign to build awareness over delays and cost overruns on Chevron’s Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Australia (see http://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/10329/region/1/section/0/order/1 and film at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIKRVjxiYuA). The campaign rebuts attempts to blame Australian labour costs for the project delays and cost overruns on Gorgon.
Paddy Crumlin, ITF president and MUA national secretary, said: “This issue crosses international borders so we have to too. Two of our colleagues have gone to the USA to meet face to face, and build alliances, with people there who are holding Chevron to account in their local communities.”
He continued: “One of our key goals is to get Chevron to meet and negotiate about wages and conditions. The MUA has consistently committed to a functional and long term commitment to productivity within the reach of labour relations, yet every approach we’ve made to Chevron has been rejected. This cannot continue. If the company refuses to talk then we have to take the struggle to its home state.”
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***Забастовка российских моряков в южнокорейском Инчхоне завершилась выплатой долга
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Российский экипаж находящегося в южнокорейском порту Инчхон судна «Президент» добился погашения долга по зарплате в размере более 70 тысяч долларов. Об этом сообщил инспектор Международной федерации транспортников (МФТ) в порту Инчхон Кянг-Ву Чанг, слова которого приводит Российский профсоюз моряков.
Сразу после погашения долга по зарплате моряки возобновили грузовые операции на судне, допустив к работе докеров. Теплоход «Президент», который ходит под флагом Белиза, должен выйти из Инчхона 1 мая.
О трудовом конфликте на судне стало известно на минувшей неделе. Судовладелец и работодатель — компания «Кораблестроитель» — в течение четырех месяцев задерживал выплаты. Экипаж просил, чтобы инспекторы МФТ посетили судно с проверкой.
Инчхон в последние дни упоминается в мировых СМИ в связи с произошедшей у южнокорейского побережья катастрофой парома «Севоль». Судно затонуло утром 16 апреля. На его борту находились 476 человек, в основном это были школьники, направлявшиеся из города Инчхон на экскурсию по острову Чечжу. Спаслись 174 человека, в том числе капитан и большинство членов экипажа.