Cement Australia ships The Australian 7 June 2007

7 JUNE 2007
John Stapleton

MORE than 70 fulltime crew on board three ships owned by Cement Australia arrived in port yesterday to find they had lost their jobs. The three ships, Goliath, Cementco and the Alcem Calaca, transport cement and gypsum between Queensland, NSW and Tasmanian ports.

The union, Australian Institute of of Marine and Power Engineers, said the company taking over the ships, CSL Australia, already operated ``flag of convenience'' ships in the Australian coastal trade employing foreign crews under changes to shipping regulations made by the Howard government.

Vice President of the union Andrew Williamson said it was not in the national interest to sack local seafarers and parachute in foreign workers. ``It is a national disgrace that the Howard government suppresses local shipping operators and those they employ in favour of foreign interests,'' he said.

A member of the crew, who did not want to be named, said they had been instructed not to speak to the media. ``The crew are absolutely shattered,'' he said. ``Their livelihoods are going out the window. We have young blokes, they have kids going to school, they are paying off houses. We are Australian people trying to make ends meet.

``We are all wondering where Australian society is heading, when ships carrying Australian cargo between Australian ports are allowed to be sold to foreign companies using cheap foreign crews and taking profits out of the country. What benefits are there for Australia?''

Former owners of the ships, Cement Australia, said they had made the sale to ensure the long term capacity to supply cement to the growing construction sector.

CA's Supply Chain General Manager Colin Bailey said he believed a specialist shipping company would most effectively deliver their shipping requirements. ``We are committed to maintaining competitive logistics operations, where it is key to our strategy to supply our customers on demand,'' he said.

In a letter distributed to employees he thanked them for their service and wished them and their families ``the very best for the future''.

A letter from the new owners CSL Australia, also distributed to staff yesterday, said they were willing to accept expressions of interest for employment and would consider making offers ``to suitable persons on appropriate terms and conditions''.

Managing Director of CSL Australia Chris Sorensen said the vessels will not be foreign flagged. ``We have our Australian operations, we spend a million dollars a year on training and we have our own Australian crews to man up the vessels in the first instance. We have made it very clear to the Cement Australia crews that they should make application for positions within our company.''

A spokeswoman for Transport Minister Mark Vaile said union opposition to the deregulation of the Australian coastal trade was ``just a classic case of the union's getting a sniff of power through Kevin Rudd and wanting to take Australia back to the day of the dinosaurs with a White Australia shipping policy that will hold the Australian economy to ransom.''