Rank and file members of the Maritime Union of Australia contesting positions
in the union’s quadrennial election are winding up after a long campaign.
Rank and file members of the Maritime Union of Australia contesting positions
in the union’s quadrennial election are winding up after a long campaign.
Standing in a number of branches and in three national positions, the MUA Rank and File Campaign has been pressing hard for reforms in the MUA and a return to the militant traditions of seafarers and wharfies. Like other unions, the MUA has for many years faced attacks by federal and state governments and employers, the most infamous being the Patricks dispute in 1998. Casualisation in the industry is rampant, hard-won conditions have been lost and there is no respite in the drive for increased profits.
Among MUA members there is widespread feeling that many full-time officials have done little to stem the tide. Union structures on the job and union democracy are being neglected as incumbent officials attempt to placate the rapacious demands of employers. Enterprise agreements are negotiated with MUA officials circumventing even legal industrial action, resulting in the union constantly taking steps backwards.
Although the MUA Rank and File Campaign has been active for a number of years, presenting alternative policies to those of the officials, the 2003 election campaign is the most serious challenge yet. Candidates include many with decades of experience in both seafaring and on the wharves, and who are members of the Socialist Alliance, the ALP and independent militants.
Perhaps the best known, Chris Cain, is a member of the Socialist Alliance National Executive. He is standing for WA Secretary of the union.
Chris and his running partners, Peter Treacy and Ian Bray, have reported tremendous support throughout their campaign in WA. In a lightning visit to regional ports, travelling 4,000 kilometres in four days, they raised more than $4,000 from MUA members, spoke at more than 20 meetings and received a warm welcome from members, many of whom had never even seen a full-time union official.
The election will conclude on June 16 after eight weeks of a union-controlled postal ballot. Counting of votes is expected to take four to five days.
Whatever the outcome of the election, it is becoming clear that a sea change is occurring within the MUA. Incumbent officials can no longer take the ranks for granted and members are taking matters into their own hands. There can also be no doubt that many in the union movement nationally will be looking closely at the results of the 2003 MUA election.
The MUA election results will be posted on the Socialist Alliance web site in the last week of June.