War on the Australian Waterfront

Security Guards with Dogs Sack 2000 Wharfies
April 8, 1998

THOUSANDS of Sydney unionists will march to Darling Harbour in support of sacked maritime workers at 10am this morning. At 2pm ACTU President Jenny George will address the picket at Port Botany. Media are invited.

Hundreds of police and dogs stormed the wharves under cover of dark last night as Patrick boss Chris Corrigan sacked his entire 2000 strong workforce in the middle of the night. In Brisbane waterside worker Peter Thorburn jumped the fence and hid under a spreader before moving out onto the dock and sitting quietly ‘Ghandi-style’ in protest.

“Security guards asked me to move and when I refused, saying I was protecting my enterprise agreement, a big guy came up and got me in a headlock. The men carried me off, one bending my fingers back until I thought they would break. Another stuck his thumb in my neck at the back of my ear and a third bent my right arm behind my back. It hurt.”

Ian Macyon MUA was manning the watch at the Darling Harbour , Sydney gates, quietly doing his job when a coach full of security guards and rottweilers flew through the gates and stormed his lookout post: “A dozen guards and two dogs ran up the steps shoved a piece of paper under my nose and said I was terminated.”

Laurie Brown, Darling Harbour said: “There were guards and dogs everywhere. It was like a military operation. ”MUA delegate, Darling Harbour, Jake Haub: “We were loading a ship two gangs of workers when security guards jumped on the moving cranes and grabbed the keys. The place was crawling with them, about 100 men and dogs.”

Down driver Andrew Maguire was on the ship directing the crane when he saw two men jump onto the moving crane and grab the wheel and told them to get out, they were sacked. First aid attendant Vince Micallef said he “heard screams from the foreman and thought someone had been hurt on the job”. He grabbed the oxygen and his kit, running out to see the wharves being invaded by guards and dogs.

Lee Smith was on the forklift at Darling Harbour lifting two containers: “Two men jumped onto the fork and grabbed the wheel, trying to yank the key out. It scared me. I thought it might be criminals or thugs I didn’t know what was going on.”

Johnny Walton said he was pulled off the job and “surrounded by about 50 guards and barking rottweilers.” In Melbourne Anthony J Cassar was chased by a rottweiller skitched onto him, fell and hurt his back.

In Fremantle MUA branch secretary Terry Buck “held ground inside the docks with about 60 other waterside workers until police arrived. ” He said they refused to move out when told by guards who would not show any identification, but agreed to go peacefully when police arrived.

In Adelaide MUA members worked through the night at the Patrick enterprise without interference. In Townsville port secretary Graham Bragg said only two members stayed back to load fertilizer when 30 security police and dogs ordered them off. “The worry is that our men can’t clean the empty containers from Papua New Guinea and they could have giant African snails on them.