Fed: Unions celebrate shipping case victory

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Fed: Unions celebrate shipping case victory

By Max Blenkin and Sharon Labi

CANBERRA, Aug 7 AAP - Unions today won a massive victory in their campaign againstforeign-flagged and foreign-crewed ships operating on Australian routes.

The High Court today unanimously ruled the Australian Industrial Relations Commission(AIRC) can consider an application to add the owners of a Bahamas-registered Ukrainian-crewedship to an award governing rates of pay and conditions for ships operating in Australianwaters.

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin said the finding was anoutstanding victory for the shipping industry and the rights of Australian seafarers.

"It means that foreign ships come under the jurisdiction of the AIRC for wages andconditions of employment and they can be roped into awards regardless of flag, nationalityor national location of the business," he told AAP.

Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE) spokesman Andrew Williamsonsaid the ruling went some way towards diminishing unfair competition.

The case was initiated by three unions - the MUA, AIMPE and the Australian MaritimeOfficers Union - which applied to the AIRC to have the company CSL Pacific added to theaward's schedule of employers.

CSL Pacific Shipping is incorporated in Barbados. The company and an Australian corporation,CSL Australia Pty Ltd, are members of the Canadian-owned CSL Group Inc.

In July 2000, CSL Pacific acquired a ship, the River Torrens, from CSL Australia andrenamed it CSL Pacific, registering it in the Bahamas.

CSL Pacific recruited a crew in the Ukraine and worked North Asian routes before returningto Australia in October 2001 under charter to CSL Australia.

The High Court was told CSL Pacific did not hold a licence for coastal trading butcarried cargoes between ports around Australia under continuing-voyage or single-voyagepermits issued by the federal Transport Department under the Navigation Act.

The full bench of the AIRC concluded it had jurisdiction to determine an applicationto vary the award as this was an industrial issue under the Workplace Relations Act.

CSL Pacific then turned to the High Court, seeking constitutional writs to quash theAIRC decision and prohibit further proceedings on the unions' application to vary theaward.

A spokesman for Transport Minister John Anderson said the government would continueto issue permits to foreign-flagged and foreign-crewed ships to meet shipping demands.

"We strongly support Australian-flagged ships crewed by Australians moving productaround the country but if ships aren't available ... we have to take the best availableoption," he said.

ACTU president Sharan Burrow and the Labor Party said the government should scrap permitsfor foreign seafarers.

"Now that the High Court has ruled, (Mr) Anderson should stop using the foreign shippermit system to replace Australian jobs and undermine Australian wages and conditions,"

Ms Burrow said.

AAP sal/sw/sjb/br

KEYWORD: CREWS NIGHTLEAD