Mudginberri dispute

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The Mudginberri abattoir was the focus of a major industrial relations dispute in the 1980s. The station is some 250 km east of Darwin along the Arnhem Highway in the Northern Territory of Australia. The abattoir was built in the early 1970s to take advantage of the large numbers of feral buffalo in the area.

The country itself is mainly low-lying black soil country between the East Alligator and South Alligator Rivers with the Arnhem Land escarpment to the east. The station's abattoir is about 15 kilometres from Jabiru to the south and much the same distance from the Ranger Uranium Mine to the north.

In 1983, the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) served a log of claims on Mudginberri and on all other abattoirs in the Northern Territory, seeking a unit tally system to be set up (a log of claims was served on employers when a union wished to create a new award for the industry). Mudginberri was a member of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association which was, in turn, a member of the National Farmers' Federation (NFF). NFF chose to become involved in the matter, considering that there were "extreme inefficiencies" in work practices in abattoirs.

A number of hearings were held into the dispute in the Industrial Relations Commission. Mudginberri was represented by Peter Costello (currently Australia's Treasurer) and most of Mudginberri's costs were met by NFF.

In July of 1984, the AMIEU increased pressure on the dispute by setting up picket lines at two Northern Territory abattoirs — Point Stuart and Mudginberri. A settlement of this dispute led to a withdrawal of the picket with each side paying its own costs.

However, hearings continued on the details of the industrial award that would me made for abattoirs. A decision on this matter was handed down in April 1985. On 9 May, the AMIEU set up a picket line at Mudginberri, seeking a unit tally scheme be implemented there (Most of the picketers at Mudginberri were from the Katherine meatworks, 300 km south of Darwin). The employees at Mudginberri had negotiated their own employment contracts without any union involvement. The union was concerned that wages and conditions at Mudginberri did not comply with standard award entitlements such as minimum pay, sick pay, annual leave and workers' compensation. But the Mudginberri workers claimed they were happy with their contracts and refused to support the picket. Most of the workforce were members of the AMIEU but had little contact with the union.

Production ceased only when meat inspectors refused to cross the picket line. Mudginberri required meat inspectors to inspect the meat before it was exported, and these Government inspectors refused to cross the picket line, meaning that Mudginberri was unable to export meat.

The Industrial Relations Commission held conferences but failed to stop the dispute. As a result, Mudginberri obtained an injunction under Australia's Trade Practices Act preventing the AMIEU from picketing the abattoir. The AMIEU refused an initial injunction preventing the picket and was ultimately fined $144,000 plus costs and the owner of Mudginberri (Jay Pendarvis) was awarded $1.5 million damages.