The Guardian 9 April, 2008
Anniversary of Patrick lockout
At 11:00pm on April 7, 1998 security guards in balaclavas with dogs stormed every Patrick run dock in Australia forcibly removing those on the job. Two thousand unionised workers were sacked. This marked the beginning of a battle for the MUA that lasted more than a month and went as far as the High Court and the prime minister’s office. Ten years on most of the internal documents regarding the dispute remain hidden.
On Monday this week there was a national stoppage on Australia’s wharves to mark the tenth anniversary of this waterfront dispute. Waterfront workers in every dock in Australia stopped work for one minute to mark the anniversary.
Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said the one minute stoppage was a symbolic way of remembering the attack on wharfies and their families when they were marched from their workplaces and replaced with mercenary labour.
"Today we remember a turbulent time on the waterfront — a dispute that not only threatened the job security of more than 2,000 workers — but took a sometimes dreadful toll on their families as well", said Mr Crumlin.
"Today we remember the way the Howard government orchestrated the attack on these workers, the tactics of using dogs and hoons in balaclavas to clear the docks and the secret training of mercenaries in Dubai to replace them."
The MUA also marked the anniversary with one minute’s silence at 10am, at their National Conference at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.
The anniversary comes as the MUA renews its call for documents withheld by the Howard government to be released to let the full story of the war on the waterfront be told.
"While the defeat of the Howard government last year marked the end of the national attack on Australian workers, questions remain about the role elected representatives played in breaching federal laws," said Mr Crumlin.
"Australian taxpayers funded reports to the tune of $1.5 million which would conclusively reveal the extent of the Howard government’s involvement in the Patrick dispute."
In Melbourne, veterans of the 1998 waterfront dispute and current Patrick Stevedores workers gathered at Docklands last week for the dedication of a commemorative sculpture — ten years on from the night hundreds of workers were thrown off the docks in Melbourne.
Dan Wollmering’s sculpture, Waterfront, which references the history and struggle of waterside workers and the Patrick dispute, has won the $10,000 first prize in the 2008 Contempora Sculpture Awards.
Patrick workers from then and now and their friends and family met at the sculpture at 3pm on April 3 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the dispute.
The artist and Kevin Bracken, MUA Victoria branch secretary, addressed those gathered at the dedication.
Kevin Bracken said the sculpture is a timely reminder of the struggle that defined the lives of so many dock-workers. "Patrick sent in the security guards and dogs on April 7, 1998 to force our workers out of their jobs.
"It’s a day we’ll never forget, but for Melbourne the fight started even earlier at Webb Dock. This is where it all began, when they hired out Dock 5 to train the men who would try to take our jobs.
"So many people supported waterfront workers during the Patrick dispute.
"This is a time to remember what became known as an iconic dispute around the world, and one of the great times when a union foiled an attempt by big business and the government to do them in."
The MUA launched the inaugural Laborfest Oz program in Sydney on April 7. It runs until April 15.