2016-01-13
Alcoa and Coalition have left MV Portland crew high and dry
The Greens have condemned the actions of Alcoa in removing the crew off the MV Portland in the middle of the night.
“This is a callous and cold-hearted response from Alcoa, aided and abetted by the Coalition government,” said the Australian Greens transport spokesperson Senator Janet Rice.
“If you want to know how Alcoa is treating Australians in their workplace, look no further than getting a bunch of hired goons to kick them off their ship in the middle of the night.
“There is no excuse for stranding the Australian crew with nothing but the shirts on their backs.
“These workers and their families now face a new year of uncertainty.
“The foreign crew that all-too-quickly replaced the Australian workers and high-tailed it out of there could now be paid less than $2 an hour.
“This takes us back to the industrial thuggery of guards in balaclavas during the Patricks dispute when the agenda was exactly the same - to deprive Australian workers of their jobs, and fair wages and conditions for a fair days work. Australia is better than this.
“Unfortunately, this is just a taste of things to come with the government’s plan to deregulate the Australian shipping industry.”
Media contact: Sam Drummond 0400 352 935