The Maritime Union of Australia has voted to break its affiliation with Unions WA in protest over the McGowan government’s plans for a new container port at Cockburn Sound.
The Maritime Union of Australia has voted to break its affiliation with Unions WA in protest over the McGowan government’s plans for a new container port at Cockburn Sound.
MUA WA branch secretary Christy Cain issued a short statement announcing the decision.
“The decision to pull out of the peak union body comes as a result of some of the Unions WA affiliates actively campaigning along with the McGowan government to close the port in Fremantle and build an unnecessary $6 billion-plus automated port in Cockburn Sound,” Mr Cain said.
The MUA, which has about 3,000 members in Western Australia, has retained its affiliation with the Australian Labor Party WA, despite leaving Unions WA.
To put this in context, about 30 unions with 150,000 members are affiliated with Unions WA, while 20 unions with about 90,000 members are affiliated with WA Labor.
The move comes a month after the MUA and other members of the progressive Labor faction staged two mass walkouts from WA Labor’s state conference.
Mr Cain had used the conference to berate the party over its plans for the outer harbour, which he has claimed will lead to the loss of 8,000 jobs.
The establishment of a second container port, likely with more automation, would also weaken the industrial power of the MUA.
Mr Cain’s campaign against the outer harbour adds to the wide split between him and Premier Mark McGowan, who has reportedly banned the union leader from his office.
Mr Cain’s militant stance has triggered speculation about the future of progressive Labor, which brought together left-wing unions such as the MUA and the CFMEU with right-win unions including the TWU and the SDA.
Progressive Labor was designed to break the factional dominance of the ‘broad left’, which is closely tied to the United Voice union.
Meanwhile, planning for an outer harbour is being led by the state government's Westport taskforce.
In a report released last month, the taskforce concluded that all container shipping should be moved out of Fremantle to a new land-backed port in Cockburn Sound, to be built at a cost of about $4 billion.
The taskforce is currently undertaking further detailed analysis of five short-listed options to meet Perth’s long-term bulk freight needs.
