Australia's dock workers' union has been "outsourcing" the manning of an illegal waterfront picket line to other powerful leaders in the wider trade union movement, a judge has found.
As the two-week union blockade continues preventing hundreds of freight trucks from accessing a Melbourne's wharf, Supreme Court Justice Michael McDonald on Tuesday made extremely rare orders identifying the head of Victoria's Trades Hall as a "representative" of all the picketers there, and banning him from blocking the gates or organising others to do so.
The picket line has been in force at the docks since two weeks ago after the stevedore, Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), axed a casual wharf employee who had been leading a union campaign in the workplace. The company said the man had been identified in an audit to be ineligible for a security clearance required to work there. The union said he had been targeted as part of a "union-busting" strategy.
The Supreme Court has previously ordered the Maritime Union of Australia to not go within 100 metres of the terminal access gates and to lift the illegal picket line. But the around-the-clock blockade has remained, and is being referred to as a "peaceful community protest" by supporters in the wider trade union movement.
Picketers have used objects such as chairs and bicycles to block the gates to the Victorian International Container Terminal, stranding more than 1000 shipping containers on the wharves carrying millions of dollars in Christmas retail goods, fresh food and medicine.
The picket line escalated on Friday when hundreds marched on the Webb Dock site as part of a multi-union demonstration. Speakers at the rally included Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari, construction union secretary John Setka and Australian Council of Trades Unions secretary Sally McManus.
In court on Tuesday, Mr Hilakari was hit with injunction orders as a "representative" of other unionists who had been helping man the illegal picket line - an order Mr Hilakari claims is an unprecedented legal step.
"I accept that making a representative order is a serious step," Justice McDonald said.
But without one in place, "the unlawful conduct on the docks will continue", he said.
Mr Hilakari's orders bar him from blocking access to the Webb Dock terminal gates and from advising or inciting anyone else to do so.
A similar order was made against unionist John Setka, the state secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, who was said to have encouraged his members to attend the site.
Justice McDonald said he was satisfied there was a case to be tried about whether there was a "conspiracy" in place among union leaders to maliciously injure the stevedoring company.
The unionists had a right to protest, he said, but they did not have a right to prevent VITC from "going about its lawful business".
VICT chief executive Anders Dommestrup said the court's decision "indicates a conspiracy", which was harming the company and many small and medium-sized businesses whose goods were "left in limbo".
"We expect the picket to be lifted immediately and we will be taking whatever steps are available to us should the illegal and prohibited behaviours continue beyond 5pm," he said.The court's sweeping injunctions banning people from being within 100 metres of the VICT gates will also apply to two state Labor MPs, Jane Garrett and Mark Gepp, who attended the picket line in the past week."It saddens us deeply to see members of the government behave in this way towards our company," a VICT spokesman said.
The new orders come as allegations surfaced of ugly confrontations at the scene of the picket line.It was alleged in court that a truck driver had been punched in the face and had his teeth knocked out while he was trying to cross the blockade to access the terminal.
Lawyers for VICT alleged that the violent assault on the driver took place on December 2.
"A truck driver attempted to go through the picket," barrister Stuart Wood, QC, said.
"He was punched and had his teeth knocked out."
Union barrister Herman Borenstein, QC, said the allegations concerning an unidentified truck driver constituted "double hearsay", and should not be admitted into evidence. The court also heard the truck driver had not indicated who "threw the first punch".
Police from Melbourne's crime investigation unit have no record of the assault being reported.
