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.