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In approximately 2006, Patrick crane maintenance was
taken over by ATIVO, employing the former employees
of Transfield, many of whom were from the original
Patrick maintenance workforce. Importantly, these
employees continued to enjoy the benefits of an EBA
negotiated by the MUA.
Automation
Another major change then occurred when Kalmar won
The rank & file newsletter focused on Qld branch the contract for providing maintenance to Patrick
and national MUA policy & direction. Straddle Carriers across their Melbourne, Sydney and,
Edition #15. July 26. 202 Brisbane Terminals where the first fully automated
Straddle Carriers were introduced.
KALMAR STRUGGLE Kalmar is part of the Finnish based Cargotec group of
companies operating in 45 countries and one of the
This is an extraordinary story, involving at best,
incompetence and at worst betrayal and deceit, by MUA leading suppliers of load handling equipment to
officials towards a member at their most vulnerable – stevedoring and shipping. Another subsidiary of
when they’ve been sacked by their employer. The Cargotec, Navis, had purchased the proprietary rights to
member was also an elected MUA workplace and HSR Patrick automation technology which had been
delegate. It’s Larry Foley’s story and he deserves to developed in conjunction with QUT.
have it told! It was not coincidental that Kalmar took responsibility for
the maintenance as well as the supply of this new,
Because of its sheer breadth, the story needs to be told
in two parts. Part 1 in today’s issue of the R&F automated machinery at the Patrick Brisbane Container
Newsletter provides the background in which a relatively Terminal. The majority of the Kalmar (Patrick Contract)
small group of stevedoring industry maintenance workforce were newly recruited with a small number
workers struggled for almost five years to obtain union transferred from other Kalmar worksites.
recognition in the face of consistent opposition from both These stevedoring maintenance operations across the
a hostile employer and seemingly, an equally Patrick terminals were then, effectively, de-unionised by
disinterested union. default. Both nationally and at the branch level, the MUA
neither sought to organize these workers nor pursue
The Beginning
EBA negotiations on their behalf.
Our story begins in the aftermath of the Patrick dispute
in 1998 where the company insisted on outsourcing its Larry Foley joined Kalmar’s stevedoring maintenance
stevedoring maintenance activities in the ports of operations in Brisbane in November 2007. Despite
Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. This involved the being trade qualified, he was initially hired, more or less
jobs of approximately 167 highly skilled mechanical and as a tradesman’s assistant. A few weeks later, Larry
electrical tradesmen. was offered a tradesman’s position, no doubt the
company had wanted to assess him first.
The MUA insisted on final union approval of any winning
contract bidder, a fully negotiated EBA prior to transfer Struggle & Opposition
of employment, with trade personnel made surplus to Kalmar was notoriously anti-union, even proclaiming on
requirements given the option of voluntary redundancy their website at one stage, they were the proud
or operational positions within the Patrick workforce. providers (sic), of non-union labour to the Australian
stevedoring industry. It’s hardly surprising there was a
US based engineering contractor, Fluor Daniel won the
job, hiring on 117 of the tradesmen at standard small, yet vocal minority of tradesmen, primarily from
stevedoring industry employment conditions. amongst those brought in from other Kalmar sites, who
Approximately 30 accepted voluntary redundancy with strongly opposed union involvement.
the remaining 18 transferring to the Patrick operational Despite this, a number of tradesmen over the years had
workforce, although many were later offered trade put up their hands to become spokesmen on behalf of
positions with Fluor Daniel. their Kalmar workmates. Due perhaps to the difficult
environment and lack of success, some moved on. At
Fast forward a number of years, a new MUA national
leadership team were now firmly led by Padraig and least one was paid a substantial cash amount by the
other remnants of the former SUA. Fluor Daniel had company to do so as well, rather than face the threat of
departed, as had a succession of other engineering severe company reaction to his efforts on behalf of the
maintenance contractors, including Skilled Engineering workforce.
rebadged as Skilled Maintenance, and Transfield for Page.1
example.
