News Summary - Friday 27 Feb

• Documents provided to the ACTU show lost productivity at Patricks due to the layout of the Patrick terminal and increased crane breakdowns because of the lack of a proper maintenance program. The documents are correspondence and memos from former line manager Alan Knight who resigned from Patrick about five weeks ago.(Source: ABC)
   
• Australian wharfies are collecting money to help pay the mortgages and rent payments of stranded New Zealand crew in Sydney and Melbourne. The two ships became stranded after a New Zealand shipping company, owned by a German firm, went into liquidation 10 days ago.

  Yet another example of the wharfies generosity and solidarity, just as they raised $65,000 to assist drought stricken farmers last year.
   

• Other industrial news:
  • Jennie George, President of the ACTU, condemned the Government's offer of a $8 wage rise for low paid workers, while supporting increases of more than $100-per-week for high wage earners such as judges. Ms George said "Reith is the most partisan minister that we've had in this portfolio. I've not known one occasion when Mr Reith has said or done anything of benefit to any ordinary people despite any rhetoric about looking after all the battlers." (Source: ABC)
     
  • Teachers unions across the country held protests and disrupted classes, saying public school budgets have been cut by $20 million.

    In Adelaide and Perth, two mock robberies were staged, highlighting teacher anger at the $20 million taken from public schools.
    In Sydney, New South Wales Teachers Federation president Sue Simpson said the Federal Government's new funding mechanism, called the Enrolment Benchmark Adjustment, goes by market trends rather than actual enrolment numbers.
    Tasmanian public teachers say the new policy threatens the idea of a quality, accessible education system.
    In Victoria, public school classes were disrupted, while in Queensland, teachers voted to actively campaign against the changes.(Source: ABC)
     

  • The Government's decision to revamp the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) will severely disadvantage rural Australia. A new jobs network is to be serviced by private companies, community organisations and a new public provider, Employment National. ACTU president, Jennie George, said "Because the profit motive is now being introduced in the provision of these services, [people will suffer] particularly those in regional and rural Australia who need these services...[They] are not going to get the ready access and it's not going to be long before you'll hear complaints from consumers saying there is no-one in their particular country town that they can turn to." (Source: ABC)

News Summary - Thursday 26 Feb

• Maritime Union of Australia officials are meeting with members of the National Farmers Federation (NFF) in Perth after union protesters were barred from entering an address by NFF executive director Wendy Craik at the annual general meeting of the Pastoralists and Graziers Association, at a Scarborough hotel.

  More than 50 union members and supporters are holding banners and singing outside the conference in Scarborough, asking farmers to support their livelihood by not backing non-union waterfront labour. The unionists claim the NFF does not have the support of the farming community in trying to oust union workers from the waterfront.(Source: ABC)
   

• Two German owned ships have been detained in Sydney and Melbourne, after the company went into liquidation. The New Zealand crews on board the ships claim they are still owed wages by the company, South Pacific Shipping, and are uncertain about their future. The crews say if they leave the ships they could forfeit their rights to recoup money owed to them.

  Paddy Kennelly of the New Zealand Seaman's Union says they face an uncertain future. "We're stuck on here without wages without any future basically...We don't know what's going to be happening in the next 24 hours."
   

• The National Farmers Federation has hired the team manager of the former army personnel involved in the aborted Dubai scheme to work at the rebel P&C Stevedores at Melbourne's Webb Dock. The NFF's president, Mr Donald McGauchie, confirmed yesterday that the team manager, Mr Michael Hanlon, and "more than 10" of the Dubai trainees had been employed to work at Webb Dock. The Maritime Union believes around 36 members of the Dubai operation have been employed, with some being flown back to Dubai to undergo specialist training.

  P&C Stevedores is considering the one-off charter of a vessel for training at Webb Dock. (Source: The Age)
   

• It seems the scab labour at Webb Dock aren't keen on publicity. A Seven Network camerman, Mr Phil Loschiavo, was filming trainees arriving at the St Kilda marina and getting into a boat to go to Webb Dock when two men pushed and shoved him off the marina. (Source: The Age)
   
• The International Transport Workers Federation, which is affiliated to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), has handed out letters to participants at a global shipping conference in London. The Federation says it is in the interests of shipping companies to help solve the dispute between the MUA, Patrick Stevedores and the National Farmers Federation (NFF). It warns that action could be taken against ships using non unionised ports in Australia. (Source: ABC)
   
• P&C Stevedores director of industrial relations, James Ferguson, says sending the union broke would be third prize in the bid to achieve genuine waterfront reform. "If the MUA close P&C Stevedores down by the use of illegal strike action, by the use of primary or secondary boycotts, by international conspiracies to prevent us from winning customers, If we go broke as consequence of union action then the full cost of the exercise will sheeted firmly home to those who are responsible for that failure." (Source: ABC)
   
• Other industrial news:
  • In Telstra, State Secretary of the CEPU, Ian McLean, says staffing cuts brought about by the corporatisation of Queensland power mirror those being carried out in Telstra. He says failures have already occurred because control of the Queensland network is being taken over by a centre in Melbourne. "We have already had some examples in Queensland where there have been major outages...Even a couple of weeks ago we had the best side of the southside of Brisbane off for 48 minutes and that's hundreds of thousands of Telstra customers without services at any time. But it can be a problem for life and limb and it obviously effects people's business."(Source: ABC)

    Telstra announced a record half yearly profit, yet it has been at the expense of its own workers. Redundancies are continuing which must bring into question its level of customer service. Telstra management have been stalling for 6 months on the negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement. (Source: CEPU)
     

  • In a result described as a good one, Australia's coal industry increased exports by more than 11 per cent last year.(Source: ABC)

    Two out of every five miners would be retrenched, at the Rio Tinto-owned Hunter Valley No 1 north mine. Workers were told that 192 people would be retrenched in July, with Mine management citing poor productivity and falling coal prices - exacerbated by the Asian financial market meltdown - and demanded the right to hire the best workers while rejecting the union's traditional last-on, first-off rule. Mal Duff, 56, who has worked at Hunter Valley since 1979, said the retrenchments were another instance of the greed that had gripped the coal industry. (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
     

  • ANZ Bank announced yesterday that it would slash 1,700 jobs from branches across Australia in the next six months as part of a cost-cutting exercise that will eventually see 3,500 jobs lost worldwide in 1998, reducing the bank's workforce by 10 per cent.

    The decision, which comes after the bank recorded a $1 billion profit last year, immediately drew fire from consumer groups and the union movement, with the Finance Sector Union claiming it meant the end of face-to-face customer service. The FSU national secretary, Mr Tony Beck, said: "This is a massive number of people whose livelihood is being taken from them by a bank who cares only about profits at the expense of customer service and its own staff. ANZ has no vision about where it wants to be. They only see short-term profits and results for shareholders."

    The cuts are part of massive job shedding in the banking industry. Last year, ANZ, Commonwealth, National Australia and Westpac cut almost 10,000 jobs, with ANZ leading the way. (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)

• The Supreme Court handed down an injunction against further industrial action by Maritime Union members at Patrick Stevedores in Melbourne. The injunction restrains the Maritime Union from directing, procuring, persuading, advising or authorising its members to take further industrial action at Webb or East Swanson Docks. (Source: ABC)
  Minister Reith is calling this a victory, but the union movement has always known the courts are predominantly biased towards the bosses! The Peaceful Assembly at Webb Dock continues...
   
• Trainees for the non-union company were seen arriving at Webb Dock by boat today, and more people are on the site than usual. (Source: ABC)
   
• The National Farmers Federation on Monday night revealed former army personnel involved in the aborted Dubai scheme had started work at the rebel P&C Stevedores operation at Melbourne's Webb Dock. The federation's industrial director, Mr James Ferguson, confirmed that P&C Stevedores had employed members of the Dubai operation to work as trainees at Webb Dock.(Source: The Age)

  Former army personnel are working as scabs, do we also have serving members of the army on Webb Dock? What role has Defence Minister MacLachlan played in this conspiracy?
   

• Patrick and the MUA will meet in Sydney on Tuesday to discuss new enterprise agreements at terminals outside Melbourne. If there is no progress, the union could call legal strikes from as early as tomorrow for ports other than Melbourne. (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)
   
• Other industrial news:
  • The Federal Government is putting more pressure on the Senate to pass new industrial relations legislation saying the issue could be a trigger for a double dissolution election.

    Federal Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith says the rules relating to unfair dismissal should be made less restrictive. The Senate is to consider the legislation next week.(Source: ABC)
     

  • In Queensland the Electrical Trades Union says recent government staff cuts at power stations is to blame for blackouts across the State. Assistant state secretary Dick Williams says there has been in excess of 20 per cent staff loss in the past 12 months. "The union has been predicting some outcome such as this for the last 12 months."(Source: ABC)
     
  • In New Zealand, most of Auckland has been without power since Friday after four major cables failed. Public Service Association official in NSW, Mr Steve Turner, said the New Zealand and Queensland difficulties were results of "putting profits before efficient service".

    He alleged that Mercury, Aukland's electricity distributor, had ignored warnings five years ago that the four cables supplying the CBD needed replacement. He blamed the failure on the New Zealand Government's push for privatisation, with retrenchment of 50 per cent of Mercury's technical staff "and almost all the junction fitters who would otherwise have been keeping these cables in good order...If you go to privatisation, you get these sorts of problems. If anyone is still out there thinking privatisation is a good idea for NSW, these events should have convinced them otherwise." (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)

• Wharfies at Melbourne's East Swanson Dock have returned to work after their second 48 hour strike in a week. (Source: ABC)
   
• A Supreme Court judge will hand down his decision on Monday on whether to grant an interim injunction, to prevent more industrial action on the waterfront. (Source: ABC)
   
• The NFF says it will encourage companies whose cargo has been help up by the dispute to sue the Union. "We'll be encouraging companies whose cargo is held up to get together collectively and take action against the union for damages. And that's something I'll be looking at next week to try and encourage that kind of action." NFF President Don Mcgauchie said. (Source: ABC)
   
• Legal action involving Patrick Stevedoring, the Victorian Government, the Port of Melbourne, and the Melbourne Ports Corporation, has been resolved. Similar action involving the other stevedore company, P&O, was also resolved recently. Last year, a deal involving the Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line was discouraged by the State and Federal Governments. The dispute was over the campanies protecting their duoploy status as they had made investment decisions on the basis of assurances there would be no new entrants to the port. (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)

News Comment - 20 Feb

If there's one Federal Cabinet Minister you can brand a liar, it's Peter Reith. It looks like the Minister for Industrial Warfare (Relations) has taken a leaf out of Gobbel's book. "Don't worry about the truth of a statement, if you repeat it often enough people will think it's true." You see, our little mate has been saying to whoever wants to listen that crane drivers on the country's wharfs make $90,000 for a fourteen hour week - a blatant lie. He has also stated that the National Farmers Federation operation on Webb Dock is a bona fide stevedoring operation, another blatant lie. He knows full well it's just a training operation.

Houlihan, the man who is running the Webb Dock operation for the National Farmers Federation has stated it's nothing more than a training exercise. Patrick's agreement with the National Farmers Federation prohibits them from handling containers. Peter Reith has lied about his involvement in this tawdry little affair, he peddles half truths and lies to push his own personal and ideological barrows.

DYING WAGE

It's hard to believe how generous Johnny Howard and Peter Reith are. Take the Living Wage Case before the Industrial Relations Commission. Johnny Howard and his side kick Peter Reith want low paid workers to receive a wage increase of eight dollars over the next two years, that's right eight dollars over two years, the price of five litres of milk.

In case you break out into mass applause, they have tempered their generosity by restricting the wage rise to workers who receive less than $451 dollars per week. I'd like to see Reith and Howard support their families on $451 dollars per week, I'm sure they would change their tune in a few hours if they were forced to live on $451 dollars a week.

Source: Anarchist Media Institute, Melbourne, Australia
Excerpt from Anarchist Age Weekly Review Number 287, 16th - 22nd February, 1998

by Anarchist Media Institute, Melbourne, Australia
Excerpt from Anarchist Age Weekly Review Number 286, 10th - 16th February, 1998

with Photos page (154KB)

• Over 2,000 union delegates met at Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne today. A motion was passed in support of the Maritime Union and to organise a mass rally of workers to fight the Federal Government's attempt at union busting. The delegates then marched to parliament house where hundreds more people had gathered in support of the wharfies.

  Leigh Hubbard, Victorian Trades Hall secretary, said "For the trade union movement this fight is as crucial a fight as we've ever had in our lives and we plan to see it through all the way,".

  Jennie George, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) told the crowd that "there is no industrial dispute but a political conspiracy to smash one of Australia's strongest unions. It's a conspiracy that involves the Federal Government the State Kennett Government, operatives in the Liberal Party and of course the unknown, unnamed backers of the Dubai fiasco and last but not least that famous union-busting operation, the NFF." On Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith, Ms George said he should be called "the Minister for Confrontation....who lies about the conditions of the wharfies" Further, that "he set out to either deregister the MUA, bankrupt the union, or sack the entire workforce on the wharves." She summed up by saying "the rule of law is being perverted".

  Two riot shields were produced and shown to the crowd. These shields were issued to the Metropolitan Remand Center, who were the only people licensed to import this equipment and approved to use it. These shields, along with uniforms and CS gas canisters were being used by the security guards at Webb Dock. This implicates the State Government in perverting the "rule of law". Similarly, a lease dispute between Patrick and the State Government was miraculously settled on the same day as the wharfies were locked out of Webb dock.

  A further fact emerged about the leasing arrangements to the NFF. The present lease contains a clause excluding all international cargoes. With this clause, it makes a joke about the NFF introducing competition on the docks.

  After these speeches the crowd marched to the NFF offices in Collins street, where a farmer questioned the motivations of the organisation he belonged to. (source: ABC, Takver)
   

• In Brisbane, over 400 Maritime workers stopped work for four hours. Branch Secretary, Col Davies said "The members, especially the members from Patrick, are absolutely incensed at [Patrick chairman Chris] Corrigan's continued confrontationalist approach and the lies. And it now comes to the fore that at one stage he was contemplating sacking the entire workforce." (Source: ABC)
   
• Gareth Evans, deputy Federal Labor leader attacked Minister Reith: "Mr Reith's protestations of ignorance about the Dubai affair, ignorance about all the subterranean manoeuvrings last year to set up the conditions for a major brawl on the waterfront, his denials of involvement in all of that are ringing increasingly hollow.".

  Meanwhile, Peter Reith admitted that it may be entirely justifiable to sack the entire waterfront workforce, and that this had been considered under certain circumstances involving the Maritime Union of Australia. Mr Reith said "The point is that under federal law, when there's massive industrial action, there are a whole lot of scenarios and options available under the Workplace Relations Act. We've sent our legal people down to P&O, to Patricks and whoever else has asked, and we have explained how the new law operates." Mr Reith said the use of troops on the waterfront was not included in the options. (Source: ABC)
   

• Sydney Rallies - Friday 6 Feb 98 The rally was 300-400 and attracted alot of interest from people on the way home. Speakers included people from the Wilderness Society, Socialist Worker and rank and file trade unionists. (Unfortunately because the MUA decided for some reason of which I'm not aware to stay away from the rally they didn't send a speaker.) The spirit of the rally was hostility to the attacks on our unions, anger at the Workplace Relations Act and a belief if necessary we should break the law to defend our organisations. (Source: email to Takver)

  An MUA endorsed rally was held on Monday 9 February with over 1000 members of the MUA and supporters.

• Chris Corrigan, Chairman of Patrick Stevedoring, today started appearing before the Industrial Relations Commission. He told the commission that he was approached by the National Farmers Federation industrial relations manager, James Ferguson last December to lease Webb Dock to set up a competing business. The Melbourne manager of Patrick, Mr Whiteway, conceded that he lied to workers about his previous knowledge regarding the National Farmers Federation sub-lease. (Source: ABC)
   
• The IRC approved the application by Patrick Stevedoring to seek civil action to sue the MUA for damages from this dispute. (Source: ABC)
   
• More than 1,000 MUA members and supporters marched down George Street and rallied outside Patrick offices in Sydney. As part of a four hour stopwork, the ports of Sydney, Port Kembla, Newcastle, Adelaide and Fremantle were closed this morning. Stopwork meetings and rallies are also expected to take place in Melbourne and Brisbane tomorrow. (Source: ABC)
   
• The IRC was told today by Chris Corrigan about a plan being discussed by Federal Government Advisors to dismiss en-masse all Patrick Stevedoring employees. These discussions took place in Sydney early last year. The idea was canvassed due to fears of the union reaction to the possible sale of the Government owned shipping company, ANL. (Source: ABC)
   

• Wharfies round Australia will be on strike for 4 hours on Monday (Tuesday in Melbourne) in protest against the attacks on their union and their conditions. (Source: ABC)
   
• Workplace Relations Minister, Peter Reith, today verbally attacked wharfies saying "Of course they say it's political but these guys are the greatest excuse makers for rip-offs and rorts that you've ever seen. You've got crane drivers that'll be walking off tomorrow who get paid for 50 hours a week and you're lucky if you get them on the crane for 14 hours a week at $90,000 a year." (Source: ABC)

  One wonders where Peter Reith gets his figures from. The average award rate in the industry is approx $30,000 p.a. for a 35 hour week, and in the big container terminals workers can earn around $75,000(with penalties and allowances) for working from 50 to 80 hours per week. Working on the wharves today involves skill and is still dangerous work. As for rorts, surely enough has been said of how our politicians continue to rort the system through travelling allowances, very generous superannuation, and the ability to set their own pay rises!
   

• Most of the goods that have been sitting on Webb Dock have been transferred to other terminals, through the goodwill of the Maritime Union and brokered by the ACTU, in an effort not to hurt third party importers and exporters. (Source: ABC)
   
• The federal Minister for Workplace Relations, Mr Peter Reith, confirmed that he held talks about the waterfront with businessman Mr Peter Scanlon (former right-hand man to John Elliott at Elders, and current director of Lang Corporation, parent company of Patrick stevedores) before Christmas last year.

  A reporter from The Age approached Mr Scanlon about whether he had any involvement in the Webb Dock or Dubai disputes. Mr Scanlon, through a spokesman, denied having talks with the Government about waterfront reform, or any role in funding the NFF operation, donating to the NFF fighting fund, and assisting any of the parties involved in the dispute.

  Mr Reith said he regularly held talks with Patrick's chairman Mr Chris Corrigan about the waterfront but maintained he was unaware of his involvement in the Dubai venture until Corrigan confessed this week. (Source: The Age)
   

• The Maritime Union has taken Patrick to the Federal Court yesterday alleging that the company has broken the enterprise agreement covering workers at Webb Dock. Meanwhile, Patrick is seeking leave to appear before the Supreme Court in a legal effort to force employees back to work. (Source: The Age)
   
• Talks occurred today in Sydney between MUA National Secretary, John Coombes and chairman of Patrick Stevedores Chris Corrigan. Neither commented in depth. (Source: ABC)
   
• Toyota approached the ACTU to move 800 new vehicles for export which have been stranded on Webb Dock since the start of the dispute. MUA national organiser Mick O'Leary said:
  "Toyota have approached us through the ACTU. We felt that it was not our intention to, in any way, damage Toyota. We've worked out an arrangement that is acceptable to all the parties and those cars will be coming out of there this afternoon."
  The cars were moved by unpaid union members not employed by Patrick Stevedoring. (Source: ABC)

• On ABC radio it was disclosed that Mr Corrigan and the National Farmers Federation were involved in a non union meatworks in New South Wales in 1995, which employed 60 people under woeful conditions and closed within a year.
   
• Industrial Relations Commission rules that Corrigan must attend and give evidence, arising from the MUA subpoena. The MUA and Patrick Stevedoring have agreed to informal talks over the weekend before resuming the hearing in the Industrial Relations Commission on Monday.
   
• Patrick Stevedoring has launched further legal action alleging its employees at Webb Dock are breaching common law by not allowing normal trading.
   
• The NFF says it has enough equipment at Webb dock to begin training. Donald McGauchie, NFF president, says that trainers will be brought in next week, and trainees the following week.
   
• The picket at Webb dock continues. This afternoon more than 100 wharfies heckled 6 truck drivers as they moved equipment onto the dock. One truckie refused to drive onto the dock.
   
• Wharfies at Patricks in Sydney today refused to load a Forklift on a ship bound for Melbourne, fearing the equipment was for the Scab operation at Webb Dock. The ship sailed without the forklift, and the workers were fined 10 minutes pay!!
   
• Other unions are actively supporting the Maritime Union of Australia defence campaign. The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (Communications Division) issued an information bulletin to members outlining the case on the Waterfront Dispute and asking members to attend the Shop Stewards and Delegates Rally or the public rally next Tuesday in Melbourne.

• The Maritime Union has subpoenaed Chris Corrigan, chairman of Patrick Stevedoring, to give evidence before Industrial Relations Commission meeting in Melbourne. He will be asked some penetrating questions about Patrick's involvement with training army troops in Dubai as waterfront strikebreakers, and the behaviour of his company.
   
• Patrick's alledge the week long dispute has cost $350,000 so far, with seven ships diverted, and the loading of 800 cars held up.
   
• At a meeting in Mildura, union members promised to exempt perishable produce. Already four containers of food have been allowed through the protesting wharfies. It seems small farmers and food producers have more to thank the wharfies for. A grower spokesperson said: "If by some chance the dispute did escalate, they gave us an undertaking that perishables would be given free passage through the wharves" (Source ABC)
   
• ACTU president, Jennie George, joined the protest at Webb Dock today. She made statements that the dispute "has the potential to cause a national tragedy" and "could result in waterfront workers living under a dictatorship". "If they get away with this you may as well say you're living in a dictatorship not a democracy." (Source ABC)
   
• The former SAS soldier accused by unions of running security at Webb Dock site, yesterday quit the army, after breaching regulations when he gave a security firm company name on his leave application which did not exist.
   
• Prime Minister Howard backs Corrigan and dismissed the Dubai debacle with the the words "Everything else . . . is a sideshow and irrelevant." This is a cheap attempt to deflect attention from the role of the Government in causing this dispute.(Source The Age)
   
• Public Rallies in support of the MUA are scheduled to be held in Sydney on Friday and Monday, and in Melbourne on Tuesday. See notices elsewhere on this page.

• Patrick Stevedoring is applying to Industrial Relations Commission to intervene and settle the dispute.
   
• The Maritime Union is considering its own legal action alleging the existing Enterprise Bargaining agreement has been broken by Patrick for leasing part of its operations to the National Farmers Federation as a market competitor.
   
• Minister Reith raised the possibility of using the Australian National Line (ANL) ships at Webb Dock. The proposal seen as "blatant provocation" by the union.
   
• Maritime Union proposal of a Maritime Industry Consultative Council rejected out of hand by the employers.
   
• As a concession, Striking workers allowed containers of stranded produce to be picked up and delivered to Coles Myer.
   
• State Liberal Government refuses to prosecute over the use of Government issue riot shields.
   
• The National Secretary of the Maritime union, John Coombes, said of Mr Corrigan's admission of subterfuge in the Dubai incident: "He's blown his chance to be recognised as a credible person in the stevedoring industry and I don't have to go through it all again," he said. "But anyone who would participate in using defence force personnel to take the jobs of other Australians has got no future in this industry nor perhaps in any other that he did the same in."

• Patricks Stevedoring admits its direct involvement in the merceneray venture in Dubai in 1997.
   
• The MUA's national secretary, John Coombs, is calling for John Corrigan, Chairman of Patricks Stevedoring, to resign as he has no respect for his workforce by putting jobs at risk, and should go.
   
• Waterfront workers on Melbourne's Webb Dock have unanimously voted to stay off the job, despite the threat of legal action.
   
• "The Labor State Opposition has obtained documents, which it claims show the Victorian Government used taxpayers money to help the National Farmers Federation in the waterfront dispute." Source: ABC News
   
• Patrick Stevedores ends the lock-out of Webb Dock. The union vows to continue the picket.
   
• The Maritime Union of Australia leadership bows to threats of legal action and tells picket to allow Patrick-owned cranes and trucks onto Webb Dock.
   
• The National Farmers' Federation announces it hopes to expand its stevedoring operations across Australia. It claims it has no problem with union labour.
   
• The State government admits leasing riot shields to the security guards at Webb Dock. It claims the shields are being returned to state authorities.
   
• The Australian Defence Force confirms that the person running security at Webb Dock is a sergeant from the SAS on long-service leave.
   

Contact Takver with questions or comments about this web page .
Last Modified : 27 February, 1998