Women@Work

Making History

Sandra Elliman was the first full time woman wharfie.  She followed her grandfather, father and brother onto the Townsville wharves in 1989. Before her, three women checkers were granted admission to the union in Whyalla in October 1976. Their duties included checking cargo to and from the ship's holds. Others followed as casuals and first aid workers.

Then came the Australian Vocational Training Scheme of 1993 and jobs for two women stevedoring workers at Sea-Land container terminal (now Dubai Ports) in Adelaide - Michelle van Rens, 19 and Monica Judd,18.

The first fully trained women wharfies to join men at Port Botany P&O (now Dubai World) terminal Sydney were Sue Virago, Melissa Bowrey and Christine Ednie. They also started their training under the Carmichael scheme, graduating with much media fanfare, as fully fledged stevedoring workers in November,1997. Melbourne and Brisbane too boast women on the wharves in trade positions and as stevedoring workers.

Women Seafarers

It was the Centenary Convention of the Seamen's Union in October 1972, which voted to allow women into the union and onto ships as crew members. Up until then only the Marine Stewards Union included women employed in traditional female jobs on passenger ships, serving food and washing dishes.

Women of the Wharves and Ships Unite 

Then came amalgamation and soon after, in 1995, the inaugral MUA National Women's Conference. This brought together women wharfies, seafarers, port and administration workers from around the coast at the St Georges Basin union training centre near Nowra to formulate a women's strategy for the union.

Now women are represented at all levels of the union.

World Leaders

Women are still a minority in the maritime industry and therefore make up only a fraction of union membership.

No woman has been elected to branch or national office, but the union has adopted an affirmative action program & women workers are now represented in all enterprise bargaining committees, as observers to national council and as delegates to the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Port Botany wharfie Sue Virago was chosen to represent women transport workers on the international stage in 1998.

The Maritime Union appointed the DP World stevedoring worker as the MUA delegate to the International Transport Workers' Federation Women's Conference held in New Delhi, India.

Sue was among 1500 representatives of transport unions from Europe, the Middle East, North America, the Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The 150 women at the conference elected Sue as one of four permanent delegates to represent women workers on the ITF Asia Pacific regional committee - a position she held until 2009, alongside the position of vice-chair of the ITF Women's Committee.

Current National Women's Liaison Officer Mich-Elle Myers was elected to replace Sue on the ITF women's committee.

Mich-Elle, a wharfie from Patrick Port Botany has been an elected delegate and OHS representative and later chairperson for 10 years. She now works full time in national office.

Mich-Elle was elected as our first woman on the ACTU executive.

Mich-Elle believes in the slogan "Nothing about us.. without us!" and works everyday to make sure MUA women are included in all facets of our work and that family friendly issues are included in MUA policy as a priority.

MUA members are encouraged to contact Mich-Elle for any help or assistance they may need.