Australian ports close over claim

Press, 7 February 1985, Page 22

Australian ports close over claim

NZPA-AAP Sydney Australian ports were brought to a standstill on Tuesday, hundreds of waterside workers demonstrated in Melbourne and Sydney, and the Court case which caused the trouble was held over until next week. Mr Justice McGregor adjourned the legal action by a Panamanian-registered shipping company, Green Island Cement, Ltd., for damages and recovery of almost ?Aust3ll,ooo ($NZ538,000) against the Waterside Workers’ Federation (W.W.F.) and two other unions until next Tuesday, February 12. Green Island Cement paid, through W.W.F. offices in late October, 5U5265,873.91 (about $NZ565,000) allegedly Ijwed in back' pay to a Third

World crew employed by the company, after industrial action held up the company’s ship Sea Prosperity at Townsville. The secretary of the Seamen’s Union of Australia, Mr Patrick Geraghty, said that Tuesday’s 24-hour ban on all foreign shipping and a further 24-hour ban on flag of convenience ships today would go ahead in spite of Tuesday morning’s adjournment. An application by Green Island Cement on Christmas Eve under Section 82 (subsection one) of the Trade Practices Act resulted in the freezing of W.W.F. funds. After further industrial action and W.W.F. negotiations, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia subsequently lifted the freeze.