Anna Caldwell: Anthony Albanese misses the boat on wharfies strike
The position of the opposition leader on the situation involving the Maritime Union of Australia at Port Botany started off well but does not go far enough, writes Anna Caldwell.
NSW
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There is a storied history of gutsy Labor prime ministers intervening in workplace disputes to break strikes.
In 1949, Ben Chifley sent troops in to end a coal miners strike.
In 1989, Bob Hawke used RAAF planes to break a pilots strike.
But in 2020, in the depths of an economy-crippling pandemic, Labor leader Anthony Albanese did not want to pick a side. The equation was simple enough — the spectacle of a union demanding a six per cent pay rise while thousands of people are out of work and inflicting go-slows on an economy in recession just doesn’t wash.
The Maritime Union, under the guise of trying to get a better deal for its workers, is leading hard-working wharfies down a dark path where public sentiment will not follow.
As thousands of Australians wonder where they’ll find a job when JobKeeper dries up, the union has its workers doing go-slows on good jobs.
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No one is denying that these wharfies work hard and deserve a fair pay. But in the midst of economic crisis, taking action that slows the economy in the name of a six per cent pay rise doesn’t pass the pub test.
Albanese was repeatedly asked yesterday if he called on the union or the employer to back down. In response, he called for them to “have dialogue”.
He was right not to throw support behind the union - but he should have gone one step further.
It’s cold comfort for the National Farmers Federation, who say farmers are sweating on their export markets. It’s also cold comfort for those worrying about our medical supplies. Something more than a bet each way was needed, and this time, Albanese missed the boat.