The Australian union movement has joined forces with more than 200 unions across
the world to impose transport and
communication boycotts on Fiji.
After an update from the Fijian union movement, the ACTU moved swiftly yesterday
and urged transport, services and
communications unions to apply bans from midday.
Union leaders responded immediately and, in solidarity with overseas unions,
put bans on cargo and communications to and from Fiji
at all major sea and air ports across Australia.
"Australians will not support terrorists who hold elected government representatives
at gunpoint and hijack a constitution," ACTU
president Sharan Burrow said.
Ms Burrow urged the Federal Government to continue its condemnation of the
coup and to apply sanctions against Fiji.
The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said the Fijian constitution must be
upheld and indicated the government may oppose the
Olympic torch going through Fiji en route to the Sydney Games.
"Unless this comes to a satisfactory democratic conclusion and unless
the constitution of Fiji is ultimately upheld, then we will have
no choice but to take strong measures - and they will not be in the interests
of Fiji," he said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton said sanctions should
be imposed without delay.
"Australia must apply the full weight of diplomatic, political, economic
and sporting sanctions against Fiji and encourage other
countries to do likewise," he said.
The assistant national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, Mick O'Leary,
said all freight destined for shipment to Fiji, except
emergency medical equipment, would be blocked. Cargo from Fiji would not be
processed at Australian ports.
"We are gathering information on all the shipping freight that comes in
and out of Fiji so that we can place bans on it, much the same
as we did to Indonesia during the East Timor situation," he said. "We
are also talking to unions on the west coast of America to see if
we can coordinate our action with them."
Airline cargo workers and ground staff would also impose bans of all non-essential
freight to help their Fijian friends, the Australian
Services Union branch president Martin Foley said - but "at this stage
airline passengers will not be targeted".
In Brussels at the weekend, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
- the biggest union movement in the world with
more than 123 million members - launched its boycott campaign, dubbed Fiji Democracy.
The boycott will disrupt shipping, airline and postal services to and from Fiji until democracy is restored in the islands.
This text may have been edited to protect the writer.
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