Death at Fishermen's Island

At POAGS Brisbane, workers were being stood over for wearing stickers
reading: “I won’t be stood over”.

Delegates and safety representatives were continually threatened with the sack.
Emotions were running high as the union and management went eyeball to eyeball.

Stories of threats and bullying from the bosses at Fisherman Island, Brisbane, were
widespread.

And the workforce was still in shock over the death of 31-year-old Brad Gray.

It was change of shift, Saturday, 3pm February 20. Safety delegate Earl Jones had just turned
up for work.

“I’d just walked into the smoko room and put my lunchbox in the fridge when one of the
clerks rushed in telling me Brad had been run over by a forklift.
“I jumped straight into one of the utes and went down. Some of the guys were working
on Brad. But he was pretty much gone when I got there from what I could tell.”

Brad Gray was working the gangway on the flag of convenience vessel Pacific Explorer
when he was struck by a 12 tonne forklift and crushed under its wheels.
Earl made sure Joe who had been driving the forklift was all right.
“He was in total shock. His face was blank.”
The job stopped at POAGS, but not at neighbouring Patrick Bulk and General.
Brett Membrey was the Patrick delegate on the shift:

“We were asked to go out to work in sight of a guy getting CPR,” said Brett. “We had full
view of the blanket getting thrown over him from 50-60 metres away. It’s etched in my
memory probably for the rest of my life.” Brett later emailed the company in disgust:

“Please understand that this email is written with emotion and compassion which your company
showed none today by directing the work group out to work as a man lay dying on the wharf – ambulance sirens ringing in the background...

“I am totally disgusted by the way that the whole process eventuated. As the shift manager said as we
spoke of this man’s last minutes of life, ‘Oh just do the plate. It’s four moves, then pontoons have to be
moved and then you can standby.”

The next morning MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin issued a press release: “Tragic
work death highlights urgent need for safety laws”. It read in part:

“As the family of dock worker Brad Gray mourn, co-workers and the Maritime Union of Australia are demanding overdue action to prevent a repeat of the fatality…”

“For the past two years we have been working for nationally
coordinated regulation to underpin waterfront safety but now
call for the urgent intervention by Safe Work Australia to review
the package of Commonwealth and State/NT law and practice to
achieve a national approach to stevedoring OHS”, said National
Secretary Paddy Crumlin.

“Brad’s death will mark a stepping up of the campaign to see safety at
last taken seriously,” he said.

“The stevedoring companies have not adequately
responded as an industry to the previous deaths and
serious injuries. They’ve pushed for self regulation
rather than prescriptive legislation,” said the
MUA’s Assistant National Secretary Warren Smith.
POAGS Brisbane stayed shut for the weekend, but
on Monday the union and management were again
in dispute.
It almost turned physical.

“The company somehow expected it would be
business as usual,” said Warren. “They intended on
working from 6am spanned till 8am for a 12 hour
shift.

Workers who had fought to keep Brad alive
were rostered Monday to 12-hour shifts with no
intervening counselling.

“We met with the labour who determined they would
remain on site but refuse to work until bona fide safety issues
were rectified,” he said. “Issues like bullying, harassment and
intimidation which is rife at POAGS in Brisbane.”

Queensland Branch officials and the Assistant National Secretary
stopped the job.

One of the workers, Murray Dakin, a tribal elder of Maori descent
asked to carry out a traditional ceremony at the spot where Brad died.
Branch Secretary Mick Carr put it to the members and it was
unanimously agreed. But not by the bosses.

“Management tried to stop us all going down there,” said Warren.
“But in the end as we walked past them they decided to participate.”
Murray led a slow march of around 100 workers to the site of the
accident to bless the site. Workers from AAT and Patrick joined in
and DPW terminal machinery ground to a halt in a mark of respect.
A minute’s silence was observed around the waterfront in Sydney
and other ports. The union then met with management.

What followed was a two hour-long emotional meeting. Despite the
tragic circumstances it turned into a physical confrontation, said Mick.
“I had to physically separate the shift manager attacking (MUA
member) Steve Cumberlidge,” said Warren. “It was unprovoked
and a disgrace and reflected the stand over tactics of management in
Brisbane.”

The meeting broke up and from that point senior national
management excluded all local managers from the talks.
All the while the labour stood by and one of the vessels was
subcontracted to Patrick.

“We insisted management talk to the members,” said Warren.
“They agreed to front around 80 of our workers who did not miss
the mark in telling them what they thought needed to be done”.
Finally after 10 hours of talks the union and management worked
out a package to go to the members.

It included a new program to eliminate bullying and harassment
on the job, a survey of job fatigue and the work environment,
a skills review to stop management downgrading as a means of
intimidating and punishing delegates, working radios on site at all
times, new ATT vans, a labour review, three new first aid points and
new first aid equipment.

As well management agreed not to dock members’ wages for the
time they did not work due to the fatality. It was agreed that wages
for members would be paid and the workers decided that the wages
for Monday 22 ($50,000) would be paid into the account of Brad
Gray’s wife as a contribution from his workmates.

The workforce unanimously voted to return to work at around 3.30pm.

But those who witnessed a workmate die were
deeply affected. Brett describes the aftermath as
an emotional and morbid time. For Earl it was
a double tragedy. He’d witnessed the death of a
mate when he was just 19.

“It was down the hold of a ship up in Gladstone.
A good friend was crushed between the side
of the ship and a bundle of aluminum ingot.
Seeing Brad lying there brought all that flooding
back. Then seeing his wife and baby at the
funeral – it’s a terrible thing.”

“After Brad’s death and Nick’s soon after, it really
rams it home. It’s made me a lot more passionate
about safety.”

Earl says he is a prime example of being
discriminated against for being outspoken about
safety and other issues.

“As soon as I became an active delegate it started,” he said. “And it’s
been ongoing ever since.”

Earl was downgraded last year after a workplace incident. The
union is now challenging this in the industrial courts.
“It’s affected my salary, my family. They think they’re just having a
go at an individual but it affects a whole lot more people than they
think.”

Like Earl, Brett Membrey too has lost loved ones on the wharves.
His father-in-law, straddle reefer attendant James Carnes was killed
at East Swanson dock Melbourne in 1990.

“With any incident – fatality or workplace injury – there’s a whole
network of people affected,” he said. “People at work, families at
home. Guys have problems for the rest of their lives. That’s what
happens.

“I want the company to listen to us when we take a safety issue
to them instead of saying ‘oh well we’ll do a JSA next time a ship
comes in’ – to deal with it then and there because next time it may
be too late.”

Bad Gray leaves a widow, Lauren and 17-month-old son, James.