POLITICAL UPDATE 48 |
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This year has been an exciting one for the MUA in the political space. With many wins and plans set in motion for the future, the efforts of our members are truly bearing fruit.
State Conference
Firstly, we would like to thank all the members who came forward to volunteer at the conference that took place on the 4 & 5th of November. The number of members who committed to helping out allowed us to spread the load among volunteers. A special thank you to all the returning volunteers from last conference, those members are vital to allowing us to participate in this party and achieve the wins we have. The MUA once again put some action into an otherwise quiet and uneventful conference. With a few motions on the agenda, the ballot for admin positions, and issues both locally and abroad, the MUA were charging forward fighting for our position in this party and ability to advocate for our members. The pressure was on, and our volunteers were disciplined, driven, and ready to fight.
Ports 1. WA Labor recognises that ports operating with- in Western Australia should be subject to the same regulations and conditions. Currently, some ports come under the Port Authorities Act 1999 while oth- ers come under the Shipping and Pilotage Act 1967 and the Jetties Act 1926. This has created a two-tier system that allows some ports to avoid regulations and conditions to gain advantage. The WA Labor State Government commits to: harmonizing all Ports under the Port Authorities Act 1999 to create a clear and fair system for all Ports, companies, and workers on the waterfront; and while undertaking this process, the WA Labor State Gov- ernment will work with all port service providers in WA to ensure the providers have appropriate qualifi- cations and experience to provide that service. 2. WA Labor recognises there are multiple licens- es issued through port authorities. However, many companies working in the industry are not operat- ing under their own license but are using the license obtained by a third party under methods such as a contracting model. This contracting model has cre- ated a loophole where companies can operate in the industry without proper scrutiny. 3. The WA State Labor Government will undertake a review to ensure that any license issued by a port authority can only be used by the business that has obtained the license.
Fire Sprinkler System Licensing
From this the MUA secured some wins and guarantees rolling into next year including motions supporting our industry.
1. The WA Labor Government acknowledges that the Building Confidence Report recommended juris- dictions register persons involved in both the design, installation and certification of fire safety systems and supports in-principle the staged introduction of registration schemes for these workers. As part of the introduction, the WA Labor Government will in- vestigate registration schemes in Queensland, New South Wales and other states.
Thank you again to the volunteers, delegates, Will Tracey, Kyle McGinn MLC, and Rosie Sahana MLC for giving up their weekend for what was a good conference
Motions Passed at State Conference
Maritime 1. WA Labor recognises that wage theft and exploitation of workers on and visiting Australia’s coast is un- acceptable. Similarly, any companies in Australia that assist or protect this exploitation are also to be con- demned. The WA Labor State Government commits to ensuring the welfare and conditions of foreign seafarers visiting Australian waters by working with the International Transport Workers Federation in its mission to eradicate wage theft and exploitation by:
: Ensuring all Ports and companies that operate ports in WA allow ITF inspectors access to internation- ally crewed vessels at their facilities;
: Ensuring companies are assessed on previous compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) and the presence of an ITF agreement, when under consideration for State remuneration; and
: Considering recommendations from the Australia Institute’s Robbed at Sea report and investigating how they can be implemented at a state level.
2. WA Labor calls on the Cook Labor State Government to work with the federal government to re-establish Australian shipping and seafaring. Further, WA Labor commits to supporting the Federal Labor Government on rebuilding Australia’s Maritime workforce through the creation of a strategic fleet therefore reducing Aus- tralia’s reliance on international shipping and seafarers.
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