
Issue No 86		02 March 2001

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MUA Prosecutes Patrick for Crippling Workers

By Zoe Reynolds

Productivity gains at Patrick have come at a cost -- crippling injuries to workers with an estimated one in four wharfies at Port Botany container terminal suffering neck, shoulder and back injuries, with dozens seeking physiotherapy

The Maritime Union of Australia has launched legal action against Patrick Stevedores for breaches of health and safety laws in the NSW Industrial Relations over the work practices.

The injuries result from labour cutbacks which force straddle operators to work day after day in cramped, poorly designed cabins, with only one break, every shift. Operators must contort their bodies while driving sideways, their heads and necks twisted and strained up to 90 degrees for hours at a time.

Prior to the dispute in 1998 and the enterprise agreement of the same year, three operators were allocated to each two straddles, ensuring job rotation and reducing strain. Down drivers worked on other duties.

But in the pursuit of profits and higher share prices for parent company Lang Corp, Patrick cut back on drivers, job rotation and breaks. This is despite current research and a series of reports recommending a maximum time frame of four hours (in total) over an eight hour period for awkward working postures.

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  Issue 86 contents

Interview: Master of Opposition
Over the past five years, John Faulkner has turned the Senates Estimates structure into his own House of Pain. He explains the art of Opposition.

Politics: Beazley the Bridge Builder?
As the Howard Government flounders, Brett Evans looks at the challenges Kim Beazley faces as his hour of destiny approaches.

Unions: Lashing & Loathing at Patricks
Three years since one of the Howard Government�s most infamous episodes, the Waterfront War, Zoe Reynolds discovers how casuals are now doing the doing the dirty work on the docks.

Legal: Workers Without Rights
Mark Morey outlines the legal status and (lack of) rights for foreigners in Australia on working visas.

International: Dispatch from the Dispossessed
Mahendra Chaudhry, Leader of the People's Coalition and the Fiji Labour Party comments on this week�s court decision.

Economics: Business Power and Mobility
The US election season makes it patently clear how Big Business is able to transform its financial resources into political power via campaigncontributions.

History: The Spoilers and the Split
The Movement, Groupers, the DLP and The Doc. All have been blamed in various ways for the ALP split in the 1950s, ensuring the ALP was kept out of federal government until 1972. Can One Nation return the favour?

Review: The New Hard Politics
Dennis Glover argues that policy has taken over from spin as the political battleground of the new century.

Satire: Bradman Latest: Family In Dramatic Court Action
The family of the late Sir Donald Bradman yesterday sought a restraining order against Prime Minister John Howard after it became apparent that he wants to be involved in every single detail of the The Don's funeral.

» StoneTemple Pirate Outrage Hits Canberra

» Five Star Exploitation at Regent

» Workers Say: We Deserve Better

» Carr Called on Ten Year Temps

» National Textiles Workers Struggling 12 Months On

» MUA Prosecutes Patrick for Crippling Workers

» Test Case: Is Redundancy a Universal Right?

» Who Pays for the Public Works?

» Seven-day Strike at Five BHP Mines

» Chubb Cuts Place Security Guards at Risk

» Vic Employers Support New IR Laws

» Lock-Out Tactics Poison Neighbourhood

» Shangri-La: Lawyers Take Over from Thugs

» Daewoo Workers See The Ugly Face Of Globalisation

» Labour Wings to Meet in Macquarie Street

» Costa Kisses the Rings

» Meat Workers Dropped from the Queue for Q Fever Vaccine

» Activists Notebook