FED: Tugboat strike to go ahead

AAP General News (Australia)
02-16-2000
FED: Tugboat strike to go ahead

By Natalie Davison, Industrial Reporter

SYDNEY, Feb 16 AAP - A 24-hour strike will hit New South Wales ports from midnight
despite attempts by the country's largest tugboat operator to avert industrial action.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said it would press ahead with the 24-hour strike,
which is expected to bring ports in Sydney harbour, Port Botany, Newcastle and Port Kembla
to a standstill from midnight.

But the union said passenger ships, including the QE2 which is due to leave Sydney
at midnight tomorrow, would be unaffected by the dispute.

MUA assistant national secretary Mick Doleman said the decision to proceed with the
strike came despite a last minute offer by Adsteam to suspend its offers of voluntary
redundancy in two states.

Mr Doleman said the MUA had written to Adsteam to secure commitments from them about
retaining existing manning levels for deckhands in NSW and SA.

"They have to accept yesterday's decision ... and completely withdraw from their plans
of mass sackings across Australia," he told AAP.

Adsteam Marine chief executive Clay Frederick said the decision to suspend the redundancy
packages came after a NSW Safety Manning Committee yesterday rejected the company's application
to reduce the number of deckhands on its tugs from two to one.

The company wants to cut crew numbers around the country from four to three and allow
engineers on tugs to take take over the role of one of the deckhands.

The move would result in a loss of 100 deckhand jobs.

Mr Frederick said the committee's ruling was inconsistent with regulations in Queensland
and Western Australia that allow for three-man operations.

And he said the company would appeal the ruling.

But Mr Frederick said Adsteam had decided to suspend its offers of voluntary redundancy
in NSW and South Australia until the safety manning committee matter was cleared up.

"While we are optimistic of successfully appealing the NSW decision, we have accepted
the union's argument that we should take the compulsory retrenchment program off the table,
which we are prepared to do until a final decision is made," Mr Frederick said.

But he said the offers of voluntary redundancy would remain on the table in Western
Australia and Queensland, as those states were not subject to the safety manning committee.

"The company will proceed with its move to three-man crews in Queensland and WA and
would keep a voluntary redundancy offer on the table until next Wednesday," Mr Frederick
said.

Adsteam would move to compulsory redundancies in those states on February 25.

He said MUA members would hold a rally outside Adsteam's Sydney offices tomorrow at
11am (AEDT), with a delegation of deckhands to seek a meeting with company management
after the rally.

AAP nd/sb/ej/br

KEYWORD: TUGBOATS NIGHTLEAD

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