Mudginberri Dispute - The Dispute

The Dispute

In 1983, the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) served a log of claims on Mudginberri and on all other abattoirs in the Northern Territory, seeking a unit tally system to be set up (a log of claims was served on employers when a union wished to create a new award for the industry) on award conditions similar to that operating at the Katherine abattoir.

In July 1984, the AMIEU increased pressure on the dispute by setting up picket lines at two Northern Territory abattoirs — Point Stuart and Mudginberri. A settlement of this dispute led to a withdrawal of the picket with each side paying its own costs.

However, hearings continued on the details of the industrial award that would be made for abattoirs. A decision on the award was handed down in April 1985 by Commissioner McKenzie which specified minimum award standards but also included a clause upholding individual non-union contracts negotiated without union involvement, which the union would not consider.

The employees at Mudginberri had negotiated their own employment contracts without any union involvement. The union was concerned that wages and conditions at Mudginberri did not comply with standard award entitlements and that essentially "the meat industry was a piecework industry whereby you're paid on the amount of work that you did" and "that employees were in fact being dudded on that particular situation by as much as $400 and $500 a week. Because they were carrying out far greater productivity, certainly being paid more, but had they been employed under the worst award that we had any where in Australia they would have been about $400 a week ahead." according to AMIEU official Allan Anderson. But the Mudginberri workers claimed they were happy with their contracts and most refused to support the picket. Most of the workforce were members of the AMIEU but had little contact with the union.

Picket lines were established on 9 May 1985 at the Victoria River, Mudginberri and Alice Springs abattoirs. Almost unanimously (there were a couple of exceptions that joined the picket line), workers at Mudginberri defied the union instructions and continued to work. Many of the pickets at Mudginberri were from the Katherine abattoir which had failed to open that season with management citing unavailability of stock due to dry conditions, but a conflicting report in the National Farmer said that cattle producers had voted to boycott Katherine meatworks while it "continues to side with unreasonable AMIEU claims". The NT Cattlemen's Association denied such a vote had been taken. The picket received ACTU endorsement on 17 May.

Commonwealth meat inspectors refused to cross the picket line and were suspended without pay, thus stopping production at the abattoir. Work could not resume until 24 June when the NT Government provided inspectors, however state inspectors could only authorise the meat for domestic consumption at half the price of meat graded for export.

According to Paul Houlihan from the NFF, the Commonwealth meat inspectors usually resided in accommodation on Mudginberri Station, but at the request of the inspectors at the start of 1985 that they should stay in the 'closed' uranium mining township of Jabiru, necessitating appropriate authorisation and changes to regulations. Houlihan claims this was planned months in advance so that the inspectors would have to face crossing a picketline, than already being behind it.

The Industrial Relations Commission held conferences but failed to stop the dispute. As a result, Jay Pendarvis, the owner of Mudginberri abattoir, obtained an injunction under Section 45D (Secondary boycott provisions) of Australia's Trade Practices Act preventing the AMIEU from picketing the abattoir. The AMIEU refused to comply with the Federal Court injunction to lift the picket and was initially fined $44,000. On 12 July the union had its assets seized for non-payment of this fine. This action resulted in 20,000 meatworkers going on strike on 25 July. Two further national strikes were held on 7 August and 30 August which included maritime and transport workers.

During August Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Industrial Relations Minister Ralph Willis attempted to have meetings between the disputing parties in Canberra but Pendarvis, the MATFA and the NFF, refused to attend saying the dispute was sub judice. On 12 August the employers faxed their terms of settlement for the dispute to the Prime Minister which included removal of all picket lines, a 2 year ban on strikes, and pay $2.5million damages to Pendarvis as well as all accumulated legal costs.

AMIEU organiser Jack O'Toole reflected in 1995: "At that stage we knew that we weren't dealing with people who were looking for a settlement so much as an overwhelming victory". The AMEIU by this stage were interested in finding a compromise to the dispute and on 27 August lodged with the Arbitration Commission an application to vary the McKenzie award to allow union involvement in contract negotiations and strengthening the preference for unionists clause. So that the case could be heard before the full bench of the Arbitration Commission, all picket lines were lifted in early September. Hearings continued in November and December with a decision handed down on 27 March 1986 which granted the union two concessions: any contract arrangements had to be notified to the union and the decision had no implications beyond the meat industry in the NT.