01:09 pm, Tuesday 20 July, 2010

Work at 27 wharves has resumed on Wednesday after workers staged 24-hour stop work action the day before.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has called a 24-hour walk-off at wharves across the country after the death of a wharf worker on July 13.

The 41-year-old Merlbourne man was killed during pick-up and delivery operations at a dock in West Melbourne.

According to authorities, the worker was crushed to death by a 2.7-tonne steel beam as it was being lifted by a crane.

The walk-off was brought about by concern on worker safety as the July 13 incident was the third dock worker fatality in five months.

MUA said the shutdown also aimed to underscore the need for improved government regulation and enforcement and worker training.

MUA’s Paddy Crumlin said conditions need to change.

“We need to start getting some commitments off people that they’re going to fix this,” he said.

“That we’re going to have a single safety standard in this country, we’re going to have a single point of enforcement. That there is going to be training, that there’s not going to be casualisation and short cuts on labour at the expense of people’s lives.”

A spokesman for the West Melbourne dock operator said the company was investigating the cause of the incident and that counseling is being offered to its workers.

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11:53 pm, Saturday 10 April, 2010

A funeral has been held on Wednesday for the Sydney dock worker who died in a container terminal at Sydney’s Port Botany on March 28.

Hundreds of mourners congregated in Sydney’s St Stephanos Church for the funeral of the 49-year-old wharfie.

The man was crushed to death while loading containers.

Among the attendees were wharf workers, who were still dressed in their bright yellow uniform.

They headed straight to the funeral rites from work in droves that the congregation in Sydney’s inner west spilled into the street.

Wharfs around the country held stop-work meetings to coincide with the funeral.

According to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), the 49-year-old worker is the fifth fatality on the docks in just over three-and-a-half years.

Current safety standards for dock workers vary across state and federal jurisdictions, the union says.

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04:46 pm, Tuesday 30 March, 2010

A 49-year-old worker has been killed at a container terminal at Sydney’s Port Botany on Sunday night, authorities say.

The wharf worker was crushed to death after he was hit by a container being unloaded from a ship at about 7.30 pm.

WorkCover NSW inspectors are investigating the incident for possible lapses in safework procedure.

A spokesman for the container terminal operator said it will conduct its own investigation into the fatal accident.

According to a WorkCover spokesman, the man was working on a ship when he was killed.

“He was crushed between two shipping containers,” he said.

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