Geelong dock workers on strike!

At 11am, 2nd of January 2024 Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) members, supported by Electrical Trades Union (ETU) members, walked off the job at Corio Quay in response to the state of their current Enterprise Agreement (EA) negotiations.

To this date, management have not met their demands for a cost of living pay rise, and have also put forward proposed changes to rostering that moves workers from a 4-day week (in place for decades) onto a 9-day fortnight working period. As a result negotiations have broken down, and workers felt they had no choice but to take strike action.

The mood was good on the picket, buoyed by several speeches by local delegates, retired unionists and organisers addressing the EA process and their concerns for the future of their workplace, as well as a sausage sizzle to keep everyone fed as cars and trucks passed by honking in support. MUA and ETU members caught up over shared interests and stories of family Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, and it was heartening to see the proud tradition of inter-union solidarity as strong as ever. Members of Geelong Anarchist Communists and Socialist Alliance were in attendance, lending their vocal support to the striking workers and the unionist cause, as well as other unaffiliated local activists.

It’s not too much to ask for workers to be compensated at a rate that accounts for a rising cost of living. If wages remain static, but prices on goods and services rise, the only winners are capitalists, who are able to pocket steady profits without raising their output on wages.
Why should workers be the only ones to suffer the higher costs of inflation? It is workers labour that produces the value that bosses profit from, without workers the entire system would grind to a halt.

Geelong Anarchist Communist members attended this picket because the cause of mass union struggle is central to the emancipation of the working class, and local support for active, fighting unions is vital to strengthening the capacity of mass union action in the future. We fully support the demands of the MUA members striking at Corio Quay, and commend ETU members in attendance for their solidarity action. When we fight together, we win!

Article by Levi H. Photo by Matt Hrkac.