Melbourne - The Australian dockworkers union scored a surprise victory yesterday when a court ordered Patrick Stevedores to reinstate 1,400 dockers it sacked two weeks ago.
The Federal Court, hearing a union allegation that Patrick had schemed with the government and National Farmers Federation against the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), said Patrick might have engaged in an illegal conspiracy. The interim order - against which Patrick immediately said it would appeal - holds until a full civil trial can be held on the conspiracy accusation.