The crew of an Australian tanker docked in Hobart could face fines under the Howard government’s Industrial Relations laws for protesting against the operator’s decision to replace the Australian crew with foreign seafarers by refusing to unload the ship’s cargo of sulphuric acid, says the Australian Congress of Trade Unions.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said on Monday: ‘The crew of the MV Stolt is feeling both sides of the Howard Government’s attacks on working Australians.
‘On the one hand, the crew have been told they have lost their jobs and will be replaced by foreign seafarers employed on as little as $100 a week after the ship’s owners, overnight, changed the flag of the ship from Australia to the tax haven, the Cayman Islands.
‘And, on the other hand the crew could now face punitive fines for protesting over the weekend to save their jobs and draw public attention to the demise of Australian shipping.
‘The crew of the MV Stolt is taking a stand for Australian shipping and for the safety of the Australian coast.
‘They should be supported by the government, not threatened with fines.’
Burrow stressed: ‘Operators of vessels carrying oil and chemicals through our waters and along our precious coastline need to uphold the highest safety standards and ensure that crews are properly trained with decent pay and employment conditions.
‘Instead, the Federal Government is failing to ensure that safety standards are being maintained and is allowing more and more foreign ships to ply the Australian coast under the much-abused Single Voyage Permit system.
‘The MV Stolt has operated for more than 20 years moving chemicals, oil, molasses and other cargo along the Australian coast and has been on time every time over the entire period.
‘The vessel is one of only 52 Australian-flagged ships left in operation.
‘The shipping policies of the Howard government have cost these workers their jobs.
‘And the extremism of the Howard government’s Industrial Relations laws mean that they face large fines for taking a stand to protect their livelihoods,’ said Burrow.
In a statement on Monday, the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said: ‘The crew of Stolt Australia, docked at Hobart, remain united in their refusal to load 9,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid as concerns for the safety of future toxic cargoes in Australian waters mount, following revelations they will be handled by poorly trained Filipino seafarers.’
MUA National Secretary Assistant Mick Doleman said: ‘Australian crews receive the best training in the world and it will take 30 Filipino seafarers to replace the Australia crew of 18 on the Stolt Australia.’
Doleman added that the Howard government had undermined efforts by unions to maintain a competitive Australian shipping industry.
The MUA leader said: ‘Unions have played a key role in ensuring Australian shipping remains among the most competitive in the world.
‘Reductions in crew sizes by as much as 50 per cent have ensured the industry remained viable and represents one of the most dramatic workforce restructuring exercises in Australia’s industrial relations history.
‘But, the Howard government has undermined this achievement by allowing Australian workers to be systematically sacked, replaced and misrepresented on the cost of crews in comparison to the enormous profits operators make.
‘The Australian flag under which the Stolt Australia sails will also be replaced with the flag of the Cayman Islands.
‘Not only are Australian jobs being sacrificed but safety standards as well.’
The crew took action last Saturday evening after being told their ship will be re-flagged to the tax haven of the Cayman Islands and that they would be replaced by a foreign crew that will each be paid less than $400 a month.
The Australian Greens on Monday suggested it would be more honest for Prime Minister John Howard to swap the Australian flag used for news conferences to a Cayman Islands flag, since he seems to prefer it flying over ships plying Australian waters.
Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania, Christine Milne, said the dispute in Hobart over the intention of the Norwegian company to change the MT Stolt Australia to a foreign flag and dismiss 18 Australian crew members was the latest example of the Howard government undermining Australian shipping and Australian values.
Milne said: ‘Ten years ago, there were 104 Australian-flagged ships working the Australian coastline.
Now, there are only 52.
‘Waving the Australian flag and wearing the Australian colours are more than just for show.
‘Every time the Cayman Islands flag is run up the flagpole where an Australian flag used to fly, the Prime Minister stands condemned.
‘Prime Minister Howard says he supports the battlers and Australian jobs but he continues to drive jobs offshore, leaving the battlers unemployed and faced with a $33,000 fine if they take action to try to save their jobs. How un-Australian is that?
‘Australians are worried every time they hear of Australian jobs going overseas.
‘On this occasion, the 18 crew jobs will be shifted to the Philippines.
‘Fairness, fair wages and decent working and environmental conditions are central to Australian values.
‘The Prime Minister tramples these values when he drives wages, conditions and environmental standards down to the level of developing countries.
‘Foreign-flagged vessels are notorious for cutting corners with human and environmental safety.
‘The community should be worried that foreign-flagged ships with their foreign crews, in increasing numbers, are transporting chemicals and oil around the Australian coast.’
Senator Milne joined the community protest at the zinc smelter in Hobart on Monday to lend the Australian Greens’ support to the efforts of the shipping workers who want to keep their jobs.
