Port of Call

By Maritime Union of Australia

Bowled Over

SYDNEY: The 42nd All Ports Bowls Carnival was a great success with members coming from Fremantle, Port Kembla, Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne to com pete at the Leichhardt Bowling Club.

Russel Gow, President, Port of Sydney Bowls Club reports Newcastle won th e competition, Sydney took out the MUA cup for best-performed team, Melbourne won the Fingleton Trophy, the Encouragement Trophy went to Port Kembla. Freman tle took out the Good Sports Trophy and Newcastle won the Cummins Prize. The George Gildea Shield for Ladies competition also went to Newcastle.

All the branches of the union and national office have assured our bowlers of the ongoing support of the union for future carnivals.

Dockers' Tribute

LIVERPOOL: When Liverpool Dockers refused to cross a picket line 10 years a go in September 1995 they were immediately dismissed by Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. No one could imagine the full consequences. Port after port join ed the fight against casual labour and deregulation as dockworkers around the world recognised that they confront the same issues in a global industry.

Australian maritime unions were at the forefront of the international labou r solidarity donating more than $30,000 dollars to the cause and helping dive rt ships from the port.

This September the MUA sent a delegation comprising MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin, WA branch Secretary Chris Cain and former Sydney Branch Secretary Jim Donovan to Liverpool to commemorate the dispute and international solidarity.

Union veteran Barry Robson was also in Liverpool for the occasion.

Others among the 50 international guests included representatives from Cana dian, American, Danish, Japanese, Swedish, Spanish, Irish, Italian, Belgium and British dock workers unions. The Liverpool Women of the Waterfront group w ere also official guests.

"The conference was chaired by Jim Nolan from the Liverpool dockers, with Paddy Crumlin, MUA, Jim Spinosa, ILWU and Bob Crow, RMH among the keynote speaker s.

"It was a fantastic conference with some of the best speakers in the world," said Chris Cain.

The Liverpool dockers lost their jobs, because they did not have the suppor t of their union. This September the world's waterfront union leaders used t he occasion to reflect on the importance of unity and international solidarity if we are to win the battles ahead.

Union on the Move

DEVONPORT: National officials gathered in August to celebrate the move of the Tasmanian branch to its new headquarters in July. Devonport is now the homeport for all three Spirit of Tasmania vessels and the TT Line call cent re making up the bulk of the state's membership. The influx of shipping has also created jobs for MUA wharfies, tug operators and linesmen.

"We've now got around one thousand members coming in and out of Devonpo rt," said MUA state secretary Mick Wickham. "It was time for the union to set up b ase where the majority of our members were."

The branch rooms were previously located in Burnie where Patrick Shipping a nd Toll vessels still operate. Mike Wickham returns to keep an eye on the por t each month.

Resistance & Oppression

Gary Deirmendjian is no stranger to oppression. He carries it in his genes.

Gary is a Sydney artist of Armenian descent. And like the Timorese and Palestinians his people have had more than their fair share of being the underdog.

It is felt in his work, the latest of which, Push, sponsored by the Maritim e Union of Australia was on exhibition in Sydney in November during Sculpture by the Sea.

The sculpture, two massive sandstone blocks, appear to the naked eye to def y gravity. Standing between the two stones as they lean in you feel as if th ey are crushing down on you. There is an overpowering sense of oppression. T hey should collapse, but something intangible resists. The artist has smoothed the stone flat on the outer side to symbolise rationalisation or reduction of v alue to a monetary measure. The inner side of the blocks carry natural rock face surfaces featuring quarry scars and broad variation of tone. This represent s the complexity of the human condition - infinite variation in form, finis h and tone. A square window punctures through both stones horizontally "My work generally stems from the central and ongoing commitment to understanding and responding to the human condition. Notions of oppression feature strongly," said Gary.

The artist approached the union to sponsor the sculpture because he felt a degree of resonance between the values of the MUA and his work, as well as the obvious maritime connection with Sculpture by the Sea, the largest free to the public outdoor exhibition in the world. The exhibition attracts around 400,000 visitors from Australia and overseas each year and features around 100 works from around 500 applications.

"These are the values unions stand for and are fighting for," he said.

"The sculpture resists the oppression. It is something you can't measure or w eigh or put a dollar value on. It is value beyond any measure and what is truly human. This is what is resisting the fall."

Gary says he was reminded by the recent publicity of the Howard Government 's renewed attack on unions of the 1998 MUA war on the waterfront. "The Patr ick dispute is still raw in my memory," he says. "I was inspired by the re silience of unions to withstand outside forces.