AUT: LL:ART: Wharves at flashpoint: Patrick peace deal under fire

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>Date: Fri, 09 Oct 1998 13:44:29 +1000
>From: "S. Plunkett" <snezp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: Leftlink <leftlink@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: LL:ART: Wharves at flashpoint: Patrick peace deal under fire
>Sender: owner-leftlink@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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>>From The Australian:
>http://www.theaustralian.com.au/index.asp?URL=/national/4351121.htm
>
>Wharves at flashpoint with Patrick peace deal under fire
>By industrial correspondent JUDY HUGHES
>
>9oct98
>
>CONCERNS among Patrick stevedore workers about the peace deal that settled
>the waterfront dispute are approaching flashpoint at a key terminal and
>placing heavy strain on the union leadership.
>
>As the stevedore yesterday stepped up pressure on the Maritime Union of
>Australia to rein in two NSW officials, one of those officials accused the
>company of running the Port Botany terminal in Sydney like a
>concentration camp.
>
>And MUA deputy NSW secretary Jim Donovan said his branch of the union was
>not the only one fielding complaints from worried Patrick workers. He said
>MUA officials across the country were deeply worried
>about heavy handed management practices at Patrick sites and the safety
>implications of reduced manning and new work arrangements.
>
>"They can't get the joint going at the end of a whip," he said.
>
>Patrick claim Mr Donovan and one of his organisers, Glen Wood, have been
>engaging in a campaign of non-co-operation at Port Botany, resulting in
>dramatically lower productivity rates compared with other ports.
>
>A company spokeswoman said yesterday Mr Wood, in particular, had been very
>abusive.
>
>Patrick had applied to the Industrial Relations Commission for Mr Wood's
>permit to enter Port Botany to be revoked and a hearing was yet to be
>scheduled. Rival stevedore P&O took similar action against Mr Wood
>earlier this year.
>
>Mr Donovan yesterday defended Mr Wood, saying he had been deliberately
>provoked by Patrick and the organiser was in fact "a gentle giant".
>
>The NSW branch of the MUA is recognised as the most militant and is also
>engaging in a go-slow in Sydney at P&O's operations.
>
>MUA national secretary John Coombs conceded there were problems at Port
>Botany, but said officials were operating in a "difficult" environment.
>
>Mr Donovan yesterday confirmed Patrick had sidelined the NSW branch and
>instead was dealing directly with the MUA's federal office over differences
>in interpretation of the agreement which settled the dispute.
>
>While he said there was no problem with the NSW branch's relationship with
>the union's federal office, he nonetheless expressed serious reservations
>about the peace deal which was negotiated by the federal
>leadership.
>
>
>
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