Heroes

Heroes. This is how the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sharon Burrow, describes the men and women who risked everything in defence of their jobs, the Australian shipping industry and, ultimately, all Australian jobs.
Holed up on board a dead ship for 14 days, the nine crew members -- a grandmother, six fathers and two sons -- all took a stand against a global shipping magnate by defying company orders to leave the vessel and allow it to sail the Australian coast under a flag of convenience.

Their employer, Canadian Steamship Lines, owned by GATT advocate and conservative minister Paul Martin tried everything to flush them out. Management first tried starving them. Then they cut off power, leaving the crew in the cold and the dark, without running water, refrigeration, heating or sewerage. Finally they tried to sue each individual seafarer in the Supreme Court, threatening them with massive damages by alleging trespass, intimidation, breach of contract, conspiracy to cause loss to the company by unlawful means -- even piracy.

"Piracy at Port Pirie," said MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. "We agree. But it is not the Australian men and women defending their jobs on board the CSL Yarra who are the villains. It's the Flag of Convenience shipowners -- cut-throat rogues who plunder our oceans, polluting our coastlines, bullying and robbing the destitute and desperate from the most impoverished corners of the globe, shanghaied into signing contracts that more often than not they can't even read, imprisoned at sea on floating sweatshops for months and even years without leave or contact with their families."

And the Australian people, by all accounts, agreed.

"We had a taxi driver come all the way from Adelaide, a two and a half hour journey, on his day off, just to tell us that he had not come across one person who was against us," said Port Pirie tug delegate Andy Thomas. "'You're on a winner,' he told us. 'Everyone is behind you.'"

Cabbies, talkback hosts, bishops, business, the media, the local community, politicians and professors -- all spoke out for Australian seafarers.

"The crew of the Yarra were fighting for the right of Australians to work in their own country," said National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. "CSL wanted to replace them with cheaper workers imported from overseas and destroy workering standards in the process."

Not since wartime enemy submarines infiltrated our harbour had public sympathy for Australian sailors (the preferred terminology in the media) aroused such strong nationalist sentiments.

Even Sydney talk back radio giants Alan Jones and John Laws threw their weight behind the Aussie battlers on board the Yarra.

It was the story of men and women barricading themselves on board a dead ship without food or water, the community coming to their rescue and a foreign company trying to smoke them out that aroused emotions from Australia's red heart to the Victorian goldfields.

It all began in December 2001 on the eve of Christmas, when CSL management announced they would walk the Australian crew down the gangway, lower the Australian flag and fly in Ukranian guest workers to take their jobs and work the coast on the cheap under a Bahamas flag of convenience. Even worse they would do so by exploiting loopholes in tax, maritime and migration laws with the blessing of the Federal Government.

Corporate ship shuffling. That's how union barrister Jeff Shaw described it. A way of rorting the Navigation Act and subverting the awards.

At first it was a battle of wits and words in the courts. But on April 26, the court came down on the side of the company selling, reflagging and employing guest workers on the coast.

In Adelaide the union retaliated by turning the monthly stopwork meeting into something bigger. Members voted to march down to the wharves where the ship was due to pick up a load of cement.

But the Yarra never came into port.

"We were about three miles off shore. I could just about make out my house," said delegate John Smith.

Crew went about their work, getting all the holds ready to pick up a load of cement for Melbourne. But they sensed foul play.

"I knew something was going on as soon as she dropped anchor," said IR Kevin Furlong. "I said to the lads on board: 'They're going to send us where there's no union office, in the sticks, somewhere like Lincoln or Pirie'."

Furlong was asleep in his cabin when he heard the ship lift anchor. He went down to the rec room where bosun Andy Gardiner was passing on the news from the first mate. They were heading for Port Pirie.

It was one of the few ports on the coast with little MUA presence at the time. The Port Pirie wharfies were all in Adelaide on interport transfer when they heard the news on the radio.

"We reckon they chose Pirie knowing we were all out of town," said stevedoring worker Robin Jenkins. "All they had to do was unload the crew and get in and out as quickly as possible, through the back door. We got a copy of a letter saying Pasminco would help them get the crew out."

MAY DAY MAY DAY

Wednesday, May 1: ABC Radio AM: A storm is brewing this morning off the coast of South Australia. It's an industrial storm involving the maritime unions and shipping multi-national CSL Australia...

Clandestine. This is how Assistant National Secretary Rick Newlyn describes what was afoot.

"The ship can run, but it can't hide. Port by port we will track it down," he says, before heading down the highway on the flat two and half hour drive to Port Pirie.

It takes a day and a night by sea for a ship to circumvent St Vincent Peninsula, so Newlyn is in town waiting and prepared for just about anything long before the Yarra arrives. Also ready and waiting are CSL reps and a contingent of police.

"Overkill," says MUA tug delegate and Port Pirie resident of 15 years Andy Thomas. "They had around 20 police on the gate and a state emergency rescue boat on the water. That's huge for this town."

On the tug Andy helps berth the Yarra at the Pasminco wharf on the tug. But as the linesmen are tying it up, Rick calls to say the police will not let him on the wharf. Mooring comes to a halt while Andy sorts things. It is a small town and he's on first name terms with most of the officers.

"We told them nothing was going to happen and got the okay for MUA members to make a bit of noise and go down onto the wharf," says Andy.

The police inspector will not instruct his men to evict unionists from the wharf -- not unless they commit unlawful acts. And when the company tries to call in police from Kadina, 70 kilometres down the track, they too refuse. The police are not about to be turned into a private army for a foreign company.

It is a long wait -- 3-4 hours before word comes. The crew are going nowhere. Engineers on board, members of the Australian Institute for Marine and Power Engineers, take protected action, refusing to lower the gangway. One of the locals brings a cherry picker onto the wharves and Newlyn is hoisted 15 metres up onto the deck to address members.

"Rick gave us a run down about the court action," says bosun Andy Gardiner. "The engineers were helping out by taking protected action. But Rick told us to keep working."

On board the MUA crew are resolute. They vote to stay put:

"We the crew of the CSL Yarra are outraged by the government policy of promoting guest workers," they say in a prepared statement. "We fear Australian employers can now sack Australian workers and bring in boatloads of exploited guest labour to take our jobs...."

"They thought sending us to Port Pirie would keep us off the front pages," says Paddy Crumlin. "But instead they brought us to our heartland."

"What a mistake they made," says Port Pirie based President of the Legislative Council, Ron Roberts "The Yarra was moored in a town dedicated to helping those in need."

What ensues is the story of a handful of workers fighting a big shipping multinational owned on the other side of the world. The man and woman in the street and on the farm relate to this. Rarely does the inhumane grasp of globalisation reach through the steel and glass high rises of the cities into the lives of people. Rarely is it played out with such drama on the ground for all to see.

"The world is a complex place," says Paddy Crumlin. "Globalisation goes far beyond our local community. Executives in a foreign country say you don't have a future in this country. What a bloody hide thinking Australian workers are going to cop that."

In the words of Richard Leever, Flinders University, the company decision to replace Australian sailors with foreign labour and reduce its tax bill shows the "dark side of globalisation."

Port Pirie is a town crippled by unemployment.

"They've taken away the smelters and grain," says SA state secretary Keith Ridgeway. "It's yet another country community devastated by globalisation. Townsfolk felt Australian jobs were disappearing. That's why people felt so strongly. It was the injustice of it all."

"The right to work with dignity is a basic right," says Port Pirie Catholic Bishop Hurley. "Those who hold the bottom line as sacred are wrong."

MUTINY

Thursday, May 2: BRISBANE 4BC Radio News: The sacked Australian crew of a cargo ship remain barricaded aboard their vessel CSL Yarra in South Australia. Crew say they will not leave the ship for fear that foreign labour will take their jobs.

It is a roller coaster of a day for all on board. First, a tense wait while the unions seek an injunction against the ship being sold until an appeal against the Federal Court decision is heard. Then an undertaking from CSL not to sack the crew until the court hearings later in the year.

While most rejoice, back at federal office MUA legal officer Bill Giddins smells a rat: "They could still sell and reflag the ship," he warns. "They could send everyone home on full pay."

And so they do. Within an hour of giving an undertaking not to stand the crew down, CSL orders everyone to shut the ship down and leave - on full pay.

"It was like every five minutes we won and 10 minutes later we lost," said IR Ryan Styles.

The captain reads out the orders, but the crew refuse to go:

"We are determined to stay put and fight for our jobs and the jobs of other Australian seafarers," says delegate John Smith. "If this ship goes, others will go, as other companies are watching this very closely and they may want to reflag their ships and avoid paying Australian taxes as well."

Keith Ridgeway is now back in town with his newly appointed deputy Jamie Newlyn. He meets with the mayor who he describes as a bit reticent at first. "But before long he is carrying the flag."

On the ground Andy Thomas runs the picket. He organises 'plants' all over town to sus out if the foreign crew has arrived; he has a word with police and gets the go ahead to march the members onto the wharves and 'make a bit of noise', organises the local newspaper to take photos of the boy who donates his chocolate bars to besieged crew, cheers on the mayor and runs messages to and from the ship.

Andy Thomas hates using the word 'I'. "It was us," he said. "We did it together."

Jamie Newlyn, honorary assistant branch secretary is stationed on the ship with the crew while on leave from his job on the wharves. His job is to let the crew know the union is there alongside them and to keep them on the job, painting, cleaning the bobcats, sweeping out the holds, general maintenance and the fire watches - just as if they were at sea.

"If there wasn't an official on board would have had a lot of worried men," says IR Styles. "The union doesn't tell us what to do, but they offer good advice."

"Mutiny on Board the Yarra", The Adelaide Advertiser leads the next morning. "Crew facing the sack refuse to walk the plank", writes The Australian.

STARVE THEM OUT

Friday, May 3: John Laws, 2UE Radio: There have been new developments in this crisis facing crew aboard the embattled bulk carrier the Yarra, with Canadian Steamship Lines cutting off supplies to the ship...

"Our perishables are running very short at this minute here," Diane Kelly, chief steward, tells Laws. "If we haven't got food then obviously we're not going to be able to eat. I would have at most probably four or five days of fresh water, drinking water."

'Ship's cook surfs the airwaves as talks sink', writes the Weekend Australian.

Barbarism. This is how Laws describes what the company is doing. Trying to starve them out. But it only galvanises the Port Pirie community behind the crew, with men, women and children coming forward with food.

The mayor personally provides 20 litres of milk.

"He went on community radio and called on people to help," said Jamie Newlyn. "Men and women, even kids were coming down with cakes and cookies. This really touched the crew. It made them feel what they were doing was really important. It encouraged them to sit it out.

"We will look after them the same as we have looked after other seamen in Port Pirie over the past 150 years," says Mayor Ken Madigan. "I was advised by the crew that they required milk, bread, fruit and vegetables, so I phoned Woolworths, Coles and Buttercup and they all provided produce."

On day one the township provides 40 loaves of bread, 5 kg of potatoes, 1 kg of tomatoes, 2 kg of apples, 1 bag of carrots, I Queensland Blue Pumpkin, I kg international roast coffee, I kg sugar, and a large jar of vegemite.

"Young lads came down with sweets," says Furlong. "The security guard's mum brought fresh vegies from her garden. That's townsfolk for you. Even the pubs sent down soft drinks. People were waving from car windows saying 'Stick with it'."

Fishermen come alongside the ship and pass up fresh fish from the days' catch. The pie shop donates four dozen pies, the cafe provides hot lasagne, the local butcher an evening supply of meat to barbecue, the five year old boy and his grannie chocolates and grapes, the primary school donates organic vegetables, women bring hot chickens, fresh scones and cakes.

"It was the older people mostly," Andy recalls. "They just kept coming and saying 'You're right. We hope you win. Is there anything we can do?'"

"Port workers Troy Sutcliffe and Robin Jenkins rallied the support of other wharfies to get barbecues and generators on board the ship," says Keith. "By the second night we had tents, flags, chairs and tables. We were really starting to get organised. That's when we got the barbecues going and got the community to join in."

For MUA stevedoring worker Robin Jenkins the most memorable moment was when the state secretary led a march of wharfies, tuggies and townsfolk onto the wharf in a show of solidarity:

"Keith organised a meeting and called all the boys in," says Robin. "He asked for our support. So we got our heads down there. Some people I'd known 10-15 years but never thought had any interest in unions, marched alongside us."

The port workers had people organised to invite the crew into their homes. When they wouldn't leave the ship they provided a motorised generator and cooking gear.

"Everyone put a little in," says Robin. "But we all got a lot more out. It brought out the team spirit in the union."

SOLIDARITY

Saturday, May 4 ADELAIDE ABC TV: Trade unionists celebrated May Day and their victory over the car industry in Adelaide today, and they promised that victory will be repeated in the CSL Yarra dispute.

"The longer the CSL Yarra is grounded at Port Pirie because of the company's determination to replace Australian jobs with imported labour, the greater the threat to Victorian building industry cement supplies," says Bill Shorten, Secretary, Australian Workers' Union.

A third of the state's building industry supplies come from SA and the dispute is no longer about one ship in a country town.

The Melbourne Age reports the ACTU has also enlisted the support of its north American counterpart to pressure the Canadian Government over the use of foreign labour on the Australian coast.

Australian Work in Australian Waters

May 5 ADELAIDE 5DN Radio News: The ACTU is heading to South Australia today to show its support for the crew of the bulk carrier CSL Yarra who are refusing to leave their ship.

"This is about Australian work in Australian waters," Sharon Burrow tells the media scrum.

She joins Paddy Crumlin, Rick Newlyn, Secretary of the United Trades and Labour Council of SA Janet Giles union representatives from a dozen unions - 150 all up - to travel the long and dusty road to Port Pirie for an official welcome at the council chambers by Mayor Ken Madigan, before marching to the Yarra.

"It went over big," said Andy. "Having all those senior players there meant something to everybody. It meant this is not just an everyday shitfight. This is the biggest thing that's happened in Port Pirie."

Maritime workers bus in from Adelaide, Whyalla and Port Augusta. Others come by car or other means.

Retired cook Neville O'Conner is sick with cancer and can no longer walk. But that doesn't stop him. He joins the march in his wheelchair.

The injustice of it all. That's what Keith Ridgeway believes was behind the show of support.

"We are a community that cares about people, particularly those who are doing it tough," says the Mayor. "The crew are a long way from their families, a long way from home, and I would like them to know that they are in a friendly community."

A Question of

National Security

May 6 SYDNEY 2GB Radio News: Hundreds of protesters have rallied outside the Canadian shipping line offices in Sydney's north with demonstrators calling for job security. This comes on the back of CSL's plan to sell off Australian vessels.

The march is led by war veterans, proudly wearing their medals for service in the merchant marine, alongside Senator George Campbell, members of the MUA, CFMEU and the NSW Labor Council.

Alwyn Allport, a merchant seafarer who provided supplies to New Guinea and the Pacific during World War II speaks at the rally in support of the seafarers on the Yarra. He says 800 Australian merchant seamen had sacrificed their lives in WWII.

"There were 58 ships attacked, of which thirty-five ships were sunk."

Sean Chaffer, MUA National Shipping Co-ordinator goes on air warning that if ships keep getting sold then the Australian industry may die.

"Re-flagging Australian ships is not just an attack on Australian jobs, it weakens our defences," he says. "The USA has recognised this. Both the Clinton and Bush administrations have actually supported their merchant fleet. Let's not wait until the next time our national security is under threat to recognise the importance of our merchant fleet."

Corporate Manoeuvres

May 7 ADELAIDE MIX 102.3FM RADIO NEWS: A union's worst fears for the ship at the centre of a six day protest have been realised. The CSL Yarra has been sold within the group and reflagged in the Bahamas...

ADELAIDE ADS10 TELEVISION NEWS: A blow for the crew staging a sit-in on board a ship docked at Port Pirie. In a move described by union leaders as corporate trickery the bulk carrier has been sold, heading off a bid to save the crew's jobs.... and now that one of CSL's Asian subsidiaries has bought the carrier, a bid by union leaders to win support from the Industrial Relations Commission has been dashed.

The Commission decides it can no longer intervene in the dispute... despite accepting the union argument. The vessel's new owner CSL Pacific gives the crew a 24 hour deadline to leave the ship.

"We'd been expecting the sale for years," says IR Ryan Styles. "Once the government sold it to CSL (in 1998) everyone could see some dark and dangerous things about to unfold. Every swing we worried about our jobs. I wanted a mortgage but didn't bother. I had no job security."

It is not a good day for the union. But the crew remain resolute.

Redundancy offers come through the ship's fax one by one. They are ignored.

"The unions will stand up against corporate trickery like this," says ACTU President Sharon Burrow "Increasingly, the business world is using this to avoid workers' entitlements."

"We're not going anywhere," IR Ryan Stiles tells Sydney's ABC Radio News.

D Day

Wednesday, May 8, ABC South Australia Radio News: Crewmen aboard the bulk carrier CSL Yarra have described today as D-Day. The crew have until 5pm to vacate the ship.

"If you do not disembark the CSL Yarra on or before 5pm CSL Pacific Shipping Inc. will take any legal action necessary to remove you from the CSL Yarra and so recover any loss and/or damages that it suffers as a result," the ultimatum from CSL solicitors Ian Maitland and Associates reads.

"They have now told our people to vacate the vessel, presumably so that they can bring in Ukrainian guest labour," Paddy Crumlin announces to the media.

The crew vote to stay, knowing that court action will follow. All nine say they are committed to fight for Australian jobs.

"Jamie never instructed us," says Ryan. "We weren't going anywhere. But we had to have a vote. Everyone put their hand up."

It is an act of courage that moves Captain John Biggs to publicly commend his crew as he disembarks.

"I am very proud of them," he says. "I admire and support those who stay on board to try to ensure the future of Australian shipping, of Australian seafarers on Australian ships."

But the engineers are advised to go.

Second mate Jemma, doesn't want to go anywhere. First mate Shane goes down the gangway and straight onto the picket. Chief and first engineer Jim and Ben stay on an extra day to maintain the generators on safety grounds. Jim is the brother of AIMPIE President Terry Snee.

The bravery of the crew inspires others.

"I got a phone call from metalworkers on a picket line in Adelaide," said Keith Ridgeway. "They had 200 people outside the gate thinking of going back in. But when they read about our guys defying a multinational they decided to stick it out. The MUA crew became a rallying point for other people to show a bit of balls as well."

Ridgeway addressed Holden and Mitsubishi. The tale of the crew's battle draws a round of applause from the metal workers. They pass the hat around and donate $500. A carload of AMWU delegates then take the money up to Port Pirie and bunk up on board with the crew overnight.

The dispute is now set to widen. The International Transport Workers' Federation in London announce the Ukrainian seafarers will not be authorised to work in Australian waters.

And in Melbourne, Victoria Trades Hall announce protests are organised against a second CSL ship.

"We would be hopeful that the pressure around the country can bring about a change," says Leigh Hubbard, Victorian Trades Hall Council.

The CSL Pacific (alias Torrens) had arrived in Melbourne overnight. Once Australian owned and crewed, CSL reflagged the vessel in the Bahamas in 2000, crewed it with Ukrainian labour and brought it back on the Australian coast and the cement trade on a continuous voyage permit a year later, to the outrage of unionists. When the Yarra was diverted to Pirie, CSL sent in the Pacific to pick up the load of cement left behind at Adelaide Brighton Cement.

The Pacific had to be stopped.

"Unions take a set against CSL Ships", The Australian Financial Review reports.

"The thing about the picket line was the support we got from other unions," says Dave Cushion, MUA assistant Victorian branch secretary. "We had at least a couple of hundred metalworkers and their delegates. Everything we did we did with them."

Most of the work was done by the ACTU and the Victorian Trades Hall, with the Australian Workers' Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, the Construction Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the Transport Workers Union all playing strategic roles.

Mark Jones, tug delegate with Australian Maritime Services, runs the picket with his right hand man, Frank Milne.

"My job was logistics," says Jones. "What I had to do was organise all the tents, caravans and unions and get in there and give it to CSL. The rest was strategy."

Work initially continued as usual on the bulk unloader Goliath tied up at the same facility.

"The AWU guys wouldn't discharge the CSL Pacific," says Mark Jones. "They held the line as long as they could. Then around 11pm a manager from Steel Cement goes in, hooks up the suction to the vessel and starts discharge into the silos. There was bugger all we could do but close the gate. The truck drivers wouldn't cross the picket. They all joined us warming our arses by the fire."

Pickets, Talks & Courts

May 9 MELBOURNE ATV10 News: Hundreds of furious workers have rallied at Melbourne's docks to support an Australian crew that's being replaced by cheap foreign labour. The axed workers are refusing to leave the ship despite moves late this afternoon to cut power to the vessel.

MALE SPEAKER: What do you want?

CROWD: Australian jobs!

In Melbourne the ACTU warns of major industrial action, the Industrial Relations Commission oversees union moves to bring cement companies in behind Australian shipping and TWU members refuse to truck out cement brought to Victoria. Reports that retailers are running out of stock make headlines.

"We are handing away the Australian economy to a few shonks," Bill Shorten, Australian Workers' Union, tells The Age. "We believe it is hypocritical for the cement industry to turn a blind eye to foreign crews when we supported them in their campaign to protect themselves from foreign cement."

Paddy Crumlin, MUA, Sharon Burrow, ACTU, and Michael Danby, local MP address the rally of around 2000 on the wharves. Around 800 AMWU workers from GMH swell the picket, along with a couple of hundred CFMEU workers, wharfies and seafarers, including a busload from Westernport.

"Our plea to the Howard Government is stand up for Australian jobs," says Sharon Burrow. "The Australian Government is signing away Australian jobs. This is an unacceptable blow to Australian families."

That afternoon Sharon Burrow, Paddy Crumlin, ITF inspector Matt Purcell and a representative of the local Australian Ukrainian community lead a union delegation onto the CSL Pacific. Their mission is to deliver the following message to the Ukrainian guest workers on board: "Our stand can in no way be personalised or construed to be against the good people of the Ukraine. Rather it is in support of our own workers here in Australia. To many the oceans of the world divide but we realise that to seafarers they unite."

The Russian captain refuses to allow the delegation to speak with the crew and takes the letter.

Sharon and Paddy then board a flight back to Sydney for an ACTU convened meeting with Transport Minister John Anderson, Adelaide Brighton Cement executives and Bill Shorten AWU.

That morning the crew write to Anderson urging the minister to reconsider his position. But John Anderson goes on radio saying his sympathy is with CSL International in its efforts to minimise costs. He condemns the unions as stubborn. He calls for reform and greater efficiencies, declaring, "It is a question of Australian industries having to be efficient and having to be world competitive."

From the deck of the Yarra Shane Holmes argues the workers' cause on Melbourne radio 3AK with Jeff Kennett as MUA members continue to occupy the ship. Holmes says they are fighting to keep the work in Australia. He says the foreign workers don't pay Australia taxes and don't contribute to Australia or the community. He says the Federal Government is turning a blind eye to Australian workers.

Talkback runs hot. The average punter comes in hard behind the crew.

John tells Sydney radio jock Howard Sattler the CSL Yarra dispute is the future for all workers, because of the GATT agreement. Fred criticises the Federal Government, saying, "you have to wonder if their blue print for Australia is to turn it into a third world country." Bob asks Alan Jones why the human rights lawyers are not doing something for these seafarers on board a ship without electricity and toilets. Brian criticises the Federal Government for letting international crews in Australia without checking them out first, retired engineer Harry calls in to say that the Yarra will probably become a ship of shame, Shirley says the Government is allowing multinationals to crush Australia's workforce and Jimmy asks if Australian seafarers can be so easily replaced, how easy and how much cheaper would it be to replace Australian politicians with Ukrainian politicians. Richard follows with an offer to do Federal Transport Minister John Anderson's job for $20,000 less.

Patrick Wright, University of Adelaide Labour Studies Department, tells ADELAIDE Radio 5AA that it is a matter of economic sovereignty and that CSL has "exploited what was there in law, as an intent to protect Australia, and used it against us as a weapon".

Wright complains about the complicity of the Federal Government in this matter, saying that "their interest in free trade is greater than the national interest".

Mark Wooden, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research, tells ABC Radio that it is "difficult to be anything but sympathetic to the workers". Wooden says that "the economic forces may be against us, but the rights of Australians to work in their own country" should override these forces.

And Peter Morris, chair of the Australian Maritime Network and the International Commission on Shipping says that Australia has become the laughing stock of world shipping.

Shadow Transport Minister Martin Ferguson says the Howard Government is standing back and watching the Australian shipping industry being killed off by foreign crews taking local jobs.

As the 24-hour deadline draws near, the last engineers leave the vessel, refusing to shut off power on humanitarian grounds. But CSL representative Ives has no such compunction. As the engineers come off he goes on and shuts down the generators which control water, sewage and power for the vessel.

At the same time, CSL trouble shooter Terry Carter flew in from Canada to push through legal action in the Supreme Court of South Australia. CSL is seeking an urgent injunction to forcibly remove the nine crew members from the vessel.

That night news that Federal Transport Minister John Anderson will meet union officials in an attempt to end a stand-off makes national headlines alongside the Middle East conflict.

The crew bed down for their first night with only dim emergency lighting and no heating....

Court Threats

May 10 NATIONAL 7 NETWORK: A South Australian court is today expected to rule on the future of sailors refusing to leave the CSL Yarra. The crew is fighting moves to replace them with cheap foreign labour. Talks last night between unions and the federal government failed to resolve that dispute.

BRISBANE 4KQ RADIO NEWS: Nine seamen remain barricaded aboard the CSL Yarra at Port Pirie as court action launched by the ship's owners to remove them resumes today. The seamen are without power, sewerage, refrigeration and fire and safety alarms after supply to the vessel was cut off by CSL yesterday.

The news reports are punctuated with cries, "Workers, united, will never be defeated....";

We control the gangway," Jamie Newlyn calls out over the national airwaves.

"We can stay here for months," says delegate John Smith. "Community support has been unbelievable".

The nine MUA seafarers know what they risk. CSL is seeking a court order for police to remove the crew whom they accuse of stealing the ship. They also seek damages for trespass, intimidation, economic loss and breach of contract against individual seafarers.

"There's only me and my wife," says IR Kevin Furlong. "If we are going to lose the house, we are going to lose it. I'm not going to back down to the shipowners."

It was bloody scary for everyone - all this legal action," says Ryan Styles. "But I always felt it wouldn't happen. The union would look after us."

That afternoon a couple of Adelaide based seafarers sit alongside state secretary Keith Ridgeway in court watching union lawyers at work. At 3pm the judge adjourns the matter until the following Wednesday. There will be no eviction of the crew on this day.

"The company was too cocksure they'd get the verdict and kick us off then and there," says Keith Ridgeway. "You could see it on their faces."

National seven network news: A Supreme Court judge has refused to order an immediate end to the sit-in onboard the CSL Yarra at Port Pirie. Nine Australian seamen are refusing to leave the ship in defiance of company plans to replace them with cheap foreign labour.

REPORTER: Day 10 of the dispute, and the CSL Yarra's remaining crew are here to stay, even the threat of being pursued personally for civil damages not enough to make the crew head for dry land.

Back on board the Yarra, spirits begin to lift.

"It's a great relief to know that no one will be trying to come over the side (to serve a court order) during the night," says Ryan Styles.

An hour later there is more good news. The Commission negotiations in Melbourne have led to a breakthrough. As part of ongoing discussions with the AWU the cement companies agree to give preference to locally flagged cargo ships and crew.

'Win for unions at sea', says The Weekend Australian, 'Cement groups salute our flag', reports the Melbourne Herald Sun.

Dead Ship

Saturday, May 11: ABC SA REGIONAL RADIO News: The crew members still on board the CSL Yarra say they are living a basic lifestyle without electricity, but that has not deterred them.

No refrigeration, sewerage, hot water, air-conditioning, fire fighting system or television. Dark and stuffy cabins.

The back up generator supplies dim emergency lighting, where the nine crew, one union official and four seafarers back from shore leave bunker down. Ice is hoisted on board to keep perishables from rotting.

"Now we know what it's like to work a flag of convenience ship," says Jamie Newlyn. "It's not really safe, but spirits are high. These people are determined to fight. It's a last stand to protest at the loss of Australian ships and jobs.

The going has been tough on board. Conditions are primitive. Keeping clean has been difficult with only a plastic bucket to bathe. The men have been washing their clothes by hand then stringing them out to dry on the mooring lines.

The crew manage to get radio going and tune in to what's happening in the outside world. They cut the lid off a 44 gallon drum to use as a bath. And they're eating really well thanks to the Port Pirie locals.

"It's been an adventure and an honour being part of such an important dispute - one that is going to make history," says relieving crew member Dave Buder.

Ken Furlong has got word his dad has passed away back in Liverpool and flies out for the funeral. Dave takes his place.

"We're all crossing our fingers for Wednesday when it's back in court," says chief caterer Dianne Kelly.

"You take it day to day," says Styles. "You get up in the morning wondering what is going to happen next. You just wait it out. Sit by. Try not to get too carried away. Keep it peaceful. It was a couple of days before we got the portable loo. Until then we had to flush by hand with buckets. It's cold in cabins. Dark. Everyone carries a torch in their pocket. Most of us have been on this ship so long we know our way around and walk it in the dark. But it's a bit of an inconvenience not being able to see your hand in front of your face."

The crew pass the time playing cards and board games. Chess. They take turns as watch keepers and do regular fire rounds. During the day they are too busy to worry. But in the afternoons, when the courts close and night falls it gets harder.

"You couldn't get a better crowd," says Furlong, a veteran of three sit ins. "The way we stuck together, joking and laughing. It kept our spirits up. What the officials did behind the lines was fantastic. Them and the lawyers - watching every move."

"The spirits of everyone have been pretty high," says Jamie Newlyn. "They know what they're fighting for."

An Unforgettable Mother's Day

Sunday, May 12: Seafarer, mother and grandmother, Dianne Kelly, celebrates Mothers' Day on the CSL Yarra in Port Pirie, with flowers, poetry and a shower, before retiring to bed to read the Sunday Mail newspaper by torchlight.

"I got some beautiful flowers and the poem from retired seafarer Noel Smith, his wife and dog," said Dianne. "That's what was on the card. And I also got a camper shower."

To top it off Dianne's family are able to ring in on the ship's phone - thanks to the locals providing generators.

"You could not ask for nicer people and a nicer town if you are going to get stuck anywhere," she says.

Back home Mother's Day is tough on the wives of those now into their 12th day of siege.

"My missus is alone with a six month old baby and a crook hip," says IR Shane Holmes. "She needs an operation. It's hard enough on the family me being away at sea, without the rest of it. But she understands. The baby keeps her mind off things."

Meanwhile Assistant National Secretary Rick Newlyn is in Canberra with Miners media officer Paddy Gorman preparing a very special Mother's Day sequel for the seamen's wives.

Wives to Canberra

Monday, May 13: CANBERRA ABC

Radio News: Families of the crew at the centre of a shipping dispute will meet with the Federal Opposition Leader Simon Crean this morning.

Ten Network National Television News: Families of the sailors staging a sit-in aboard the CSL Yarra have met the Federal Opposition leader to enlist his support. The move came as the protest over foreign crewing of Australian ships entered its eleventh day.

"We wish to meet with John Anderson to find out why he's allowing foreign crew to take over an Australian ship," says Inga Gardner.

"It's pretty stressful," says Maryanne Costello.

Crean promises the women he will introduce a private members' bill aimed at stopping the rorting of the single voyage permit system.

Behind the Scenes:

Tuesday, May 14 ADELAIDE 5RN Radio News: SA Industrial Affairs Minister Michael Wright has criticised the Federal Government for creating a climate where cheaper foreign crews can take the place of Australian seafarers.

"This derelict policy diminishes Australia's ability to ensure that our waters are safe," the ALP minister says.

In a letter to Mayor Ken Madigan, Port Pirie councillors and the Port Pirie community, tThe SA branch thanks the people of Port Pirie for their support: "We proudly recognise the effort that was displayed by your community... without your support our members could not have successfully reached their victory..."

Breakthrough

Wednesday, May 15: SEVEN NETWORK National News: Australian merchant seamen aboard the CSL Yarra have won their battle to retain their jobs after a sit-in.

"We hope CSL are booted out of Australia back to Canada," says delegate John Smith."

Keith Ridgeway reads out the union media release. But Andy Thomas says he is not disbanding the picket line until there is official confirmation from Sydney that the agreement is signed and sealed.

"Once we got that and the gangway came down, I mustered as many people as possible and we all shook hands," he said. "We took the picket down, let the police know it was over. And then we did what blokes do and all went for a drink.

Victory

Thursday, May 14: ALICE SPRINGS CAAMA Radio News: Australian seamen who barricaded themselves aboard a cement carrier have claimed victory in their fight against plans to replace them with foreigners.

The victory is broadcast across the country.

NINE NETWORK NATIONAL NEWS: A dispute which ignited protests in New South Wales and South Australia over the use of international crews on Australian vessels has finally ended. The ship at the centre of the row, the Yarra, is expected to leave port as early as this weekend.

REPORTER: Nine crew of the Yarra have refused to come ashore since the ship docked at Port Pirie on May one. Outraged, the ship's owners were planning to replace all seventeen sailors with a cheaper Ukrainian crew. Owner CSL and the Maritime Union have reached an in principle agreement allowing the Australian crew to man the ship for the next four to six weeks in domestic waters before the ship is relocated overseas.

"We as a crew had a right to our jobs," says IR John Smith. "We stayed and fought for that right and now they have backed down - it's a good victory for us and all Australian workers."

National Secretary Paddy Crumlin tells the Today Show that the Yarra will sail with its Australian crew for a few weeks before heading back into international waters. The search is on for an Australian vessel to work the cement trade. He lauds the crew for their actions and wishes good riddance to another FOC.

Heroes

Friday, May 17: ABC Adelaide Radio News: The defiant crew members of the bulk carrier CSL Yarra have been described as working heroes by the president of the ACTU, Sharon Burrow. Their union is staging a celebration in Port Pirie today to mark their victory in keeping their jobs and to thank the local community for supporting their stand against shipping giant CSL. Ms Burrow says the crew who refused to be replaced by cheaper foreign workers were courageous.

"They are heroes for standing up for jobs for all Australians," she says.

"When it comes down to it these nine people saved an industry," says Jamie Newlyn. "Just being involved with a group of people putting so much on the line was really something. They risked a lot - $100,000 fines. But they said get stuffed. They took a stand for the whole industry, a stand for everybody. They did the hard yards. If they'd walked the gangway 24 hours later the Ukrainian crew would have walked up and sailed the ship away. We would have lost it. It would have been the end of the industry. Every ship owner would have followed."

Ultimately it is your victory, National Secretary Paddy Crumlin tells the people of Port Pirie at a special function to thank the Mayor and the townsfolk.

"This dispute was about social justice. Having a go. Making history. Nation building by Australians with the courage to have a go. That's what good unionism is about.

Local MP Ron Roberts says he had tears running down his cheeks as he heard the news. "At that moment I was proud to represent working people. It made us all proud," he tells the gathering around the Lions Club sausage sizzle in the town square that day.

Other speakers include Mayor Madigan, Bishop Hurley, SA TLC Secretary Janet Jiles, Shane Holmes and Rick Newlyn.

But the crew members were keen to share the glory with the people of Port Pirie and their union.

Andy Gardiner, CSL Yarra Crew member, "Without the local community we couldn't have done it..."

"It was an unforgettable experience," says Ryan Styles. "I feel quite proud of being part of something I'll remember for the rest of my life. The best thing about it was how all the crew stuck together and fought the same battle. We all stood on common ground. The same goes for the people of Port Pirie. It makes you proud to be Australian. The union's done a bloody good job."

"It's such a small port," says wharfie Robin Jenkins. "So isolated. But since the dispute we are all so proud to be MUA."

Postcript: The Yarra sailed to Noumea in June where the crew were repatriated. A week later the ship sailed back onto the coast under another name, enraging unionists.

Talks continue over the Australian flagged and crewed replacement ships with chairman of Independent Cement and Lime, one of CSL's main customers, John Holt reaffirming commitment to Australian shipping: "I think everybody would prefer for Australians to service our coastline shipping wise. Any Australian would rather that.," he told ABC Radio's AM program on July 5..

Meanwhile Commission hearings on the roping-in claim for CSL Pacific wound up in June with a decision expected as MWJ goes to press.. A dispute over redundancy payments is yet to be resolved.

Also of note since the Yarra sailed was news that the now infamous owner of Canadian Steamship Lines, finance minister Paul Martin, had resigned his post.

The resignation came after a clash with prime minister Jean Chretien, Lloyds List Daily Commercial News reports. Long-time foes within Canada's governing Liberal Party, tensions between the two have grown in recent weeks, with reports that Martin felt his prime ministerial ambitions were frustrated by PM Chretien refusing to stand down for at least another three