BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE
HOBART — Manufacturing union organiser Greg Cooper joined a delegation of business leaders on February 22 to appeal to the federal government for financial assistance to shipbuilding company Incat. The union's call for assistance comes despite Incat's sacking of more than 200 workers and its persistent refusal to grant a pay rise to the remaining workers. The company "suspended" 89 apprentices on February 8.
Incat builds large sea-going catamarans. The company claims it has "a cash-flow crisis" because it has too many unsold ships. Two ships are tied up at the shipyard and another two are under construction.
The "cash-flow crisis" justification was also used by the company for last year's sackings and the refusal to grant the long overdue pay rise. At the same time, the company continues to promise that lucrative contracts (including with the US military) are close.
Incat chairperson Bob Clifford, said to be the wealthiest person in Tasmania, had promised a pay rise to workers on the sale of the next catamaran. The company sold one catamaran in January and leased one catamaran to the US military last year. Still, no pay rise has been granted or sacked workers rehired.
The company line, endorsed by Labor Premier Jim Bacon, is that the company has a secure future if current financial troubles can be overcome. It was recently revealed that the state government loaned $30 million to Incat, reportedly the largest loan ever made to a private company in Tasmania.
Workers have borne the cost of the company's crisis in other ways. In early February, the afternoon shift was cancelled (resulting in less pay for some workers) and, on February 21, the two-week suspension of 89 apprentices was extended by four weeks. The apprentices have little chance of getting an alternative job for such a short period.
The delegation to the federal government also included Bacon, Incat managing director Craig Clifford and National Australia Bank representatives. They appealed to Prime Minister John Howard to purchase or lease an Incat vessel for the military or give a cash grant or loan to the company. The federal government response is due on February 26.
Hobart Resistance organiser Sarah Cleary has put forward an alternative proposal: "None of the talk of government assistance is accompanied by any talk of guaranteeing the security and livelihoods of Incat workers. If the situation is as dire as the company makes out, Incat should be nationalised and managed by an elected and recallable committee of Incat workers. This would enable the enterprise to direct its efforts towards more useful ends than building vehicles for US President George Bush's bogus 'war on terrorism'."
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, February 27, 2002.
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