Crewmen Forcibly Removed After Federal Liberal Government Allows Companies To Replace Australian Crews with Foreign Workers
Hundreds of workers are being sacked because they are paid in Australian wages. The Federal Government is issuing Temporary Licences to allow big business to sack Australian Workers and replace them with exploited foreign labour, paid as little as $2 per hour.
In 2015, The Federal Liberal Government tried to pass legislation through Parliament that would allow businesses to employ "Flag of Convenience" (FOC) vessels, running cargo over Australian domestic routes. These vessels would be crewed by Third-World workers. Such a practice has sparked outrage amongst The Australian Maritime Community and has led to Hunter Workers joining the campaign to protect this key Australian industry from precarious Flag of Convenience shipping practices.
THIS IS WORK CHOICES ON WATER"
Anthony Albanese, Shadow Transport Ministe
“Flags of Convenience”
The term, “Flags of Convenience” (FOC) refers to the controversial practice of registering merchant ships in foreign countries with the purpose of making a profit. The practice provides corporations with a legal loophole, allowing their ships to be exempt from obeying the laws of their own country.
This loophole has much to do with the registration process of the shipping industry. All merchant ships must be “registered” in a country. The country that registers the vessel is known as the “flag state.” Once registered, the vessel will then fly the flag of the country that registered the vessel. The ship is then bound to the laws of the flag state that they are “flying” (even if the “flag state” has little relationship with the ship).
Photo: World Maritime News
The modern practice of “Flag of Convenience” shipping originated in the United States in the years between 1915 and 1922. During this period, American seafarers had successfully lobbied for a number of workplace protections and improvements in wages. Consequently, US merchant vessels were subjected to their own laws and protections. To counter this, US sea merchants began flying foreign flags (from Panama and later, Liberia). By following lower health and wage standards, greater profits could be made.
Since then, “Flags of Convenience” shipping has become an internationally used practice. Many vessels register their ships in “Third World” countries in order to pay seafarers poor wages and enforce lower workplace standards.
Maritime workers on board FOC ships are known to often be heavily exploited and exposed to poor safety conditions, unreasonably low wages and overly long working hours. FOC vessels have often been associated with criminal activities and often escape any accountability because it becomes increasingly difficult to monitor the ownership of vessels that carry flags that have little – or a 'third hand' – relationship with the country in which they are registered.
New "Ships of Shame" in Australia
In Australia, serious inquiries have been made over the conduct of FOC vessels, such as the 1992 "Ships of Shame" Inquiry. Only last year, in June 2015, the criminal realities behind FOC ships were brought to the forefront of the Australian consciousness. A criminal investigation occurred in Glebe Coroner's Court in Sydney after 3 Filipino seafarers mysteriously died in 2012 on a Japanese-owned, Panamanian-flagged, and mostly Filipino-crewed vessel.
In 2012, The Gillard Government introduced a reform program to regulate The Australian Maritime Sector to prevent these kinds of precarious practices from hitting Australian shores.
However, under The Federal Liberal Government we have seen a relentless attack on the Gilliard initiatives. Both Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and current Liberal PM Malcolm Turnbull, have pushed to deregulate the sector. In May 2015, Liberal Transport Minister Warren Truss pushed to remove the Labor reforms. Instead, Truss wanted to issue a single license for ships taking cargo between domestic ports. This would mean that seamen working on non-Australian vessels would only have to be paid in Australian wages, and subjected to Australian maritime conditions, after spending more than 183 days trading on the Australian coast. Prior to this 183 day mark, these workers could be exposed to non-Australian wage standards and workplace conditions.
There were strong fears that such proposals would allow unethical working conditions to enter Australia shores, as well as concerns that our own crews would be overlooked, and possibly sacked, in favour of hiring foreign crews that could be treated and paid poorly.
In 2015, Opposition Transport Minister, Anthony Albanese said that the initiative to deregulate the maritime sector was an “explicit statement that the [Liberal] government wants to impose massive reductions in pay and conditions" and referred to policy as "work choices on water." Paddy Crumlin, Maritime Unions of Australia (MUA) National Secretary and International Workers’ Federation (ITF) President, says, “Flags of Convenience shipping is riddled with morally ambiguous, and sometimes, criminal practices. Yet the Australian government wants to make ships of shame the new normal rather than the extreme exception.”
Due to the recent actions of The Federal Liberal Government, these fears are now being realised; despite the rulings of The Australian Senate. In November 2015, The Australian Senate blocked Malcolm Turnbull’s Legislation to deregulate Australian Maritime Sector. To overlook the democratic process, The Liberal Government conspired with 'the big end of town' and issued companies with "temporary licences".
In October 2015, The Turnbull Government gave the American company, Alcoa a "temporary license", allowing this company to 'avoid' Australian domestic cabotage trading laws. These temporary licences have already led to the sacking of Australian Maritime Workers located throughout the country.
On the 13th January 2016, at 1am, thirty Security Guards forcibly removed five Australian Seafarers from The MV Portland vessel located in Victoria. Less than a month later, this precarious practice entered The Hunter Region. On the 5th February 2016, more than a dozen police entered The CSL Melbourne vessel, located in Newcastle NSW, and removed five crew members. These crew members were staying on the vessel as a sign of protest after being sacked by Pacific Aluminium to be replaced by foreign crews paid $2.00 per hour.
Hunter Workers Joins The Campaign
When news came that more Australian Seafarers were to suffer the same fate as crews in Victoria, The Newcastle Community took a stand, establishing a Community Protest at Tomago Smelter; the premises of the owners of the subsidiary company, Pacific Aluminium.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) have been very active in their Campaign to save The Australian Shipping Industry from being outsourced and created "The Jobs Embassy" based in Canberra to protest against these attacks on Australian crews.
Since then, The Job Industry has collaborated with Unions representing workers multiple job-sectors that have also received cuts due to actions of The Federal Government. In mid-March, 2016, Hunter Workers joined these Unions to protest in Canberra as a sign of solidarity. Our own Secretary of Hunter Workers, Daniel Wallace (see video below) spoke at The Jobs Embassy and emphasised the need to keep Australians employed in work that is conducted in Australia.
The protest was covered by NBN NEWS. Click here to watch the NBN News Report.
Daniel Wallace Hunter Unions
Posted by Mich-Elle Myers on Monday, March 14, 2016
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Our Coast. Our Jobs. Our Future.
The “new” Turnbull government is carrying out the very same policies as his unpopular predecessor. These policies show all the markings of a draconian government that cares little about the well-being and job security of its' own workforce, and cares even less for the precarious conditions it is imposing on foreign workers that they are allowing to work on FOC vessels. Most alarming is the complete defiance on the wishes of The Australian Senate for the sake of profit.
Australian Maritime Workers should be able to carry out the same jobs that have been performed in this country for generations. We should be proud of our working conditions, high wages and seek to ensure that Flag of Convenience vessels do not overturn our high standards of workplace protections.
Photo: Our Coast Our Jobs Our Future
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Or contact Mal Lingard at The Newcastle Branch of the Australian Maritime Union (MUA) on (02) 49 292 149 to get the latest news on events and activities to support The Campaign.
