Twist and Shout

Sydney wharfies have something to sing and dance about.... No more manual twistlocks in Port Botany!

Overlooking the ships, containers and cranes, Patrick OH&S delegate Bobby Lee can see a big change. No longer are workers scrambling over the mountains of containers, risking their necks. Manual twistlocks are on the way out.

"I've never seen anyone seriously hurt," said Bob. "But it worried me just watching the risks some of them were taking. I wanted something done about it. Blokes were getting out of the cages. That's an unsafe work practice. We never had a serious accident but there was always the danger."

The MUA determined to launch a campaign against manual twistlocks at the National Delegates Conference in 2004 and commissioned a short film. The union was also developing an international campaign with other dockworkers particularly the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the US which had successfully lobbied the authorities so that ships with manual twistlocks were, like those suspected of harbouring terrorists, refused entry into port. The ILWU said it would refuse to load them.

"If it was good enough for the ILWU, it was good enough for us,' said Bob. "I remember bringing it up at occupational health and safety meeting. It would have had to have been a year or so back. We asked the company to go into joint venture with the union. Management didn't have the clout to do it without us."

"We had the company on board," said Branch Secretary Robert Coombs. "They understood the dangers of working the old twistlocks and they also knew it slowed the job down."

Getting all ships to have semi automatic twistlocks means our members are safer and the job easier, so the union and the workers are happy. Productivity has improved so the stevedoring companies are happy. And the ship spent less time in port therefore paying less in charges, so the shipping companies are happy too.

The most hated ships in Port Botany were the Malaysian MISC and other Bunga vessels.

"When that ship was due in you would dread working it," said Patrick MUA delegate Paul Keating. "There was no easy way around it. It was a big problem for lashers as well. Twistlocks were strewn everywhere. They were all over the bloody place and people were navigating through them when they were on the deck. Blokes were tripping over them."

Then there was the risk of fall from the containers stacked five or six high on deck. Work was supposed to be done with a harness or from inside the cage.

"The truth of the matter was the blokes felt more comfortable jumping out," said Paul "They'd throw the twistlocks out and work outside the cage. That's been going on for years. We're very lucky no one's been killed. The bonus made it worse. Everyone racing to get the job done and taking short cuts."

But while luck was on side and no worker fell from a container stack, plenty of pins did.

"They'd fall from the cage or the box wouldn't land properly and they'd be spitting out the twistlocks," said Patrick lasher Justin Bayless. "You don't know who is on the ground I've seen a pin fall and hit a bloke in the back. Must have just been hanging on the edge. Just come off. By the time you sing out 'look out' it's too late."

The cage was the safe bet, but not without concerns:

"It used to kill you, leaning over on your knees the whole time," said Paul. "When you go six high your are talking about a lot of twistlocks. They weigh 5 kilo each and you'd be carrying two at a time for hours. You get strains on your back and shoulders. That went with the job."

If that wasn't enough many of the old twistlocks were damaged, or picked up at different ports. Some locked clockwise, some anti-clockwise.

"Worse thing about them when they reversed," said Justin. "You think you've unlashed them, but you haven't."

There were plenty of reasons to do away with the manual twistlocks.

The MUA campaign hit the ground running. The branch got state government funding for the safety video shown at conference (copies of which are being distributed to branches with this MWJ). Branch Secretary Robert Coombs announced manual twistlocks had to go and Patrick wharfie and television presenter Luke Dyer demonstrated safe work practice until that day came.

Once the workers were all part of the campaign, Deputy Branch Secretary Glen Wood started talking to the shipping companies. The Stevedoring companies were on side. But the shipping companies needed a bit of convincing. It's big money in converting a whole ship over.

"They were a bit hesitant at start," said Glen. "They wanted letters from me to their operations manager, so they could send them on to Europe. After four weeks I told them we were not going to wait much longer."

MISC, which manages the Malaysian (Bunga) line wrote back saying they would convert all vessels and they have. Now they all have automatic twistlocks.

The campaign then spread to P&O "We played a part in spreading the message," said port committee member Paul Macleer. "We put a campaign in place. We showed the video at the workplace. All the workers supported it."

Now the Italian shipping company MSC Shipping Line have agreed to convert. And in August the last company, FESCO also came on board.

Patrick first aid has already noticed the difference with no recent accidents reported involving twistlocks.

"We had a bloke in who got hit when a lashing bar popped out of a container pocket hit him in the left eyebrow causing deep laceration. And nearly everyday someone comes in and wants a heat back on the back or neck from straddle driving," said first aid attendant Ryan Ambrose while flicking through the report sheets. "But I don't remember any twistlock injuries in the couple of months I've been on the job."

When MWJ visited Patrick Port Botany in August the Bunga had just sailed, a day early. Semi-automatic twistlocks make the job easier and faster. But the Jakarta registered ISC ship Thamrin was unloading containers. And below deck a solitary MUA member was climbing on the containers under the hook working the twistlocks manually.

Patrick delegate Paul Keating was pleased to report that Thamrin too was run by ISC and had had already been put on notice to convert. Port Botany will soon be completely free of manual twistlocks.

"It hasn't been a hard campaign," said Glen Wood. "It just meant a bit of effort chasing the companies up. It should have been done years ago. I didn't want to see anyone get injured. So when the committee first asked if we could do anything about it, I just took it up. It's my job. The members are very happy now."

The delegates agree:

"The union put a lot of pressure on the companies," said Paul Keating. "That's how they got it. It took a hell of a lot from the union. If it weren't for the union and from the push on our side it wouldn't have happened as quick as it did. Now that it's in, it makes life easier for everyone," said Paul

Sydney is the first Australian port to have done away with manual twistlocks. The ships they campaigned to change will sail to other ports where other workers will enjoy the benefits. But the twistlock campaign is a national one.

"The branch has done a great job," said National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. "This is all about workers' safety - human lives. It's worth the effort. We have to ensure this success is achieved everywhere before the job's done."