Waterfront Celebrates Women's Day

Date: 08 March 2002

It's International Women's Day and the Sydney wharves are set to celebrate with new recruits - and thanks to support from the media in getting the word out when the jobs were advertised, dozens of women have applied.

As well P&O Ports and the MUA have joined forces to appoint a full time women's officer Sue Virago. Her job is to ensure that women know when jobs are going and apply for them. Then once they are on the wharves she's helping to setup a mentor program so that some of the veteran wharfies put up their hands to show the young recruits the ropes.

Next stop is Tasmania. Virago has just returned from meetings with state P&O management and union reps with the promise that women will be encouraged to enlist in the industry. Then it's on to Fremantle and Brisbane.

At present only around 2 per cent of stevedoring workers are women.

Sue Virago who was among a group of four women to first work on the Sydney wharves in 1995 has been seconded from her job at P&O, Port Botany to work full time from MUA national office.

MUA women will also be celebrating women's day by marching under the union banner. And in WA the branch is celebrating with the first women workers state conference.

CONTACTS: Sue Virago, national women's liaison officer, 0438-273236, Ann-Marie Ware, P&O Assistant Manager, 9364-8445, 0401-711495,

For further information

Contact:	Zoe Reynolds
Union:	Maritime Union of Australia
Phone:	0417 229873
WWW:	http://www.mua.org.au/

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