Work at Newcastle Port back in Local Hands

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

It's a victory for local workers this week, with local engineering company Varley Group securing a contract to unload wind turbine cargo at Newcastle Port.

The change comes after a shipping company who previously used Singaporean workers on 457 visas to do the job, caved from community pressure.

Maritime workers held a protest at Newcastle Port earlier this month in protest of foreign workers taking their jobs.

Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon says this turnaround is a terrific win for Newcastle locals.

Workers protesting at Newcastle Port [Image: Maritime Executive]

Both for our local workforce, certainly for Varley Group...and also just stopping what was one of the most exploitive moves ever trying to replace a local workforce with a foreign workforce that was to the best of our knowledge, not receiving the right wages or conditions for the job."

She says the Unions were a key factor in keeping the work local.

"The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union and the Maritime Union of Australia have done a great job in bringing community workers together to ensure that this outrageous attempt to deploy a fly-in crew from Singapore to do the work that men and women in Newcastle have been doing for generations - it's great to see they've been able to garner enough community support and pressure to stop that practice in Newcastle."

According to the MP, when companies give these contracts to foreign workers, it's often a case of exploitation for the sake of profit.

"They're paying those overseas workers lower wages and not paying attention to their level of skills," she said.

"It's just a classic case of a company trying to cut corners on safety and further suppress wages and conditions in order to make a bigger profit at the end of the day."

Despite the victory, Sharon Claydon still believes we need to be on our guard to help protect Australian jobs.

Answers needed on Barangaroo construction death

BY JARROD MELMETH

A phone call with the father of Tim Mcpherson who was killed on a construction site at Sydney's Barangaroo has prompted Labor Senator Doug Cameron to call for a coronial inquest into the workers' death.

The 32-year-old Maitland man was crushed and instantly killed by an unsecured large metal beam which was being transported on a barge near one of the city's main area of water traffic.

It has been reported that the Maritime Union of Australia was blocked access from conducting a safety inspection after safety concerns were raised at the construction site where Mr Macpherson was tragically killed.

The barge on which Mr Mcpherson was working at the time had been issued with a prohibition notice 10 months before the incident, after operating at Barangaroo without a certificate of survey, which shows that a vessel has been surveyed and meets the standards for construction stability and safety equipment.

The vessel - owned by Brady Marine & Civil -  was issued with a temporary exemption which, under the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 vessels are exempt, if the vessel has had previous certificates which were not revoked or suspended; an application for a certificate of survey has been made; an accredited marine surveyor has surveyed the vessel within 60 days before or after the certificate of survey ceased to be in force; and compliance with construction and equipment standards that apply to the vessel have been considered

Mr Cameron said there are too many questions surrounding an entirely avoidable tragedy.

"Why was this barge allowed to sail from Brisbane to Sydney when it obviously did not comply with Australian Maritime Safety Authority requirements.

"Why was the barge allowed to operate for months without proper certification?

"And again, why was it issued with a temporary compliance that obviously was not up to scratch?

"These are the questions that must be answered and I just think a coronial inquiry is the way to go to get to the bottom of this.

"The basic safety breaches were clear and any building and construction site around the country in that condition should be shut down," Mr Cameron said.

Interview with Doug Cameron here: 

Tim Mcpherson and Labor Senator Doug Cameron.