In his book Australia’s Secret War, historian Hal Colebatch exposed a shocking truth long suppressed: how militant unions had repeatedly undermined Australia’s war effort in the second world war.
“Between 1939 and 1945”, Colebatch wrote, “virtually every major Australian warship, including at different times its entire force of cruisers, was targeted by strikes, go slows and sabotage.” As he argues in the book, which won the 2014 Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History, these were not inconsequential actions. Australian soldiers in the crucial New Guinea theatre ran short of food, radio equipment and munitions because of strikes. “Planned rescue missions for Australian prisoners-of-war in Borneo were abandoned because wharf strikes left rescuers without heavy weapons. Officers had to restrain Australian and American troops from killing striking trade unionists.”
All just ancient history? Well, it is history that seems to be repeating itself.
Australia’s biggest defence projects are facing a massive wages cost blowout, with BAE’s troubled Hunter-class frigate program the latest target in a union-led campaign leveraging sector pay disparities and workforce shortages.
The demands of the unions are astonishing.
More than 500 BAE workers walked off the job in Adelaide on Monday, demanding a 30 per cent pay rise over three years, claiming they are underpaid by an average of 20 per cent compared to other workers in the industry.
The campaign follows an 18.5 per cent upfront wages boost for ASC submarine workers at the same Osborne shipbuilding precinct in November, which was achieved after a bitter industrial campaign to achieve pay parity with their West Australian counterparts. Other defence companies are watching the latest dispute closely after weathering a 22.5 per cent jump in workforce costs over the past four years.
Australia’s defence ability is experiencing a critical shortfall in naval capability. Unions are clearly aware of the dire situation and are duly exploiting it to the hilt to line their pockets.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox warned unions were taking advantage of critical defence projects to demand unsustainable wage increases that would ripple across the sector and into the wider economy.
“The reality is that the defence industry has to compete for labour in a tight job market while also seeking very specific trade and broader skills,” Mr Willox said.
“This will undoubtedly push up wage costs not just in defence but across the broader manufacturing sector, as well as mining and resources, at a time when many industries are already struggling for labour and skills.”
It’s not just the submarines, either. The new navy frigate programme has already blown out with staggering costs and delays. And that’s just the start if the unionists get their way.
The latest pay claim is set to push up the price of the Hunter-class frigates, which are already shaping up to be one of the world’s most expensive warships at about $4bn per hull without even allowing for weapons and combat systems. Mr Willox said: “As in all publicly funded projects, like we are seeing in the cost blowouts in many infrastructure projects, it is taxpayers who ultimately bear the burden of paying for project delivery.”
What do the unions have to say for themselves?
But the metal workers’ union said pay rates needed to be aligned across big defence projects to ensure they could hold onto highly mobile workers.
“If you’ve got two shipyards side-by-side, and a future shipyard that’s going to be building the AUKUS submarine, you’re going to have to have consistency,” Australian Manufacturing Workers Union national president Glenn Thompson said.
“If you don’t have the skilled workforce, you’re not going to be able to deliver these things.”
Nice little ship you ’ave there, guv’nor. Be a shame if anyfink was to ’appen to it…
Kind of like happened to the submarines.
Last year’s ASC pay dispute cost the Collins program more than 29,000 lost work hours, wreaking havoc with submarine maintenance schedules and undermining preparations for life-extending upgrades to the boats.
In the meantime, China is turning Australia’s coastal waters into Xi’s private lake at their leisure.
Just so long as union members get to line their pockets.
