VIC: Shell picket ordered to end by Supreme Court = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
08-13-1999
VIC: Shell picket ordered to end by Supreme Court = 2

Justice Beach said there had been uncontradicted evidence from Shell that unless the
pickets were removed by Monday, the refinery would be forced to close, costing the company up
to $700,000 a day.

He said the picket had already caused massive disruption to Shell's facilities, including
delaying international shipping movements, as well as rail and road movement in and out of the
Geelong facilities.

In a wide-ranging order embracing elements of a similar decision made by Justice Beach
against dock workers in the protracted waterfront dispute, not only must the picketers leave
the site, but they must not do anything to prevent the movement of goods in and out of
Geelong's Shell facilities.

They must not "hinder or follow" any person at the site.

At the same time, Justice Beach defended the rights of employers to go to the Supreme Court
to prevent unions from taking action against them in the Federal Court.

There is a convention among Melbourne lawyers representing unions to take action in the
federal jurisdiction and for employers to start their own action during industrial disputes in
the Supreme Court.

If unions are to go to the Federal Court seeking to pre-empt employers taking action in the
Supreme Court "there is no reason why employers cannot come to this court and adopt similar
tactics," he said.

Justice Beach also said he doubted employers would have been successful in the action they
sought had they gone to the Federal Court.

He said that because Shell was not a party to this dispute between the unions and
contractor Danum United, he said he did not think they would be able to gain "the relief they
sought in the Federal Court".

"(Shell is) not involved in the dispute and they are not parties to the dispute," Justice
Beach said.

The judge has required the unions pay for quarter-page advertisements in the Geelong
Advertiser publicising his order.

AAP ag/sp/ra/hu/br

KEYWORD: SHELL ORDER 2 MELBOURNE

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