Australian unions ready to end bans

Australian unions ready to end bans

SYDNEY (Reuters): Australian unions on Wednesday appeared ready to end their Indonesia trade bans as the United Nations authorized an international force to end violence in East Timor.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), which last Thursday imposed bans on seaborne trade that have delayed wheat shipments to Indonesia and caused containers to swamp docks around Australia, began taking a softer line.

"We haven't altered our position yet," Jim Tannock, assistant national secretary of the MUA, told Reuters.

"But hopefully there may be some resolution, maybe tomorrow." The first sign of a break in the blockade appeared on Wednesday morning when dockers began unloading a ship in the Queensland port of Townsville laden with nickel from Indonesia.

Union officials said the decision to unload the ship was taken because it had been held up in port for a week. Without elaborating, they also said they had been contacted about the bans on Tuesday by the Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The MUA bans were imposed to protest the killing of thousands of people in East Timor by pro-Jakarta militias, backed by Indonesian military, after the territory's Aug. 30 vote for independence.

The union has also delayed the loading of about 40,000 tons of wheat on the Indonesian-flagged Bogasari Lima in Brisbane and caused the diversion of two other Bogasari wheat ships en route for Western Australia.

Australia's national wheat exporter, AWB Ltd, was optimistic that the blockade on wheat exports to Indonesia would soon end.

"We are very hopeful at this stage of a pretty quick timeframe for a resolution," an AWB spokeswoman said.

Industry sources said the bans have so far affected an estimated A$80 million (US$52 million) worth of cargo nationwide.

A senior MUA official in Townsville closely connected with the stranded Bogasari Lima, speaking soon before the U.N. mandate was given to the international force led by Australia, showed a desire for a quick end to the trade ban.

"Basically the quicker the better. Naturally we don't want to see Australian business being hurt. It would be lovely to finish it (the bans) but not at the moment," he said.

Canada

In a related development, the Canadian Labor Congress called on its 58 member unions on Tuesday to protest the violence in East Timor by boycotting goods to and from Indonesia.

The Congress said port, transportation and communication unions were investigating what steps could be taken to impede the flow of goods with Indonesia.

Congress president Ken Georgetti said the move was in response to the atrocities committed by the militias and others against the East Timorese people.

"We're telling our members to 'check the label, and if it's from Indonesia, or if there is a chance it's been produced in Indonesia, don't buy it," the newly elected Georgetti said in a statement.

Georgetti also called for a cessation of investment by Canadian companies in Indonesia.

He added that over 100 Canadian-based companies operate in Indonesia including Bank of Nova Scotia, Bombardier 0Ltd., and Inco.

The Congress is the second international union to call for a boycott after the Australian Congress of Trade Unions launched its Campaign for Peace on Monday.

Violence erupted in East Timor after the territory opted for independence from Jakarta in a U.N. organized ballot on Aug. 30.