The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE) is both an
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
n professional association and a
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
. They are registered with the
Australian Industrial Relations Commission
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...
and are affiliated with the
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and l ...
.
The AIMPE represents engineers in coastal shipping, the offshore oil and gas industries, towing and dredging.
They cover, in the maritime industry, employed and unemployed marine engineers, engineers or electricians on ships, people in training to be a marine engineer, officers of AIMPE, (when holding appropriate certification) power plant engineers, and (when holding appropriate certification) Charge Engineers and Assistant Charge Engineers employed in New South Wales by Caltex Refining. AIMPE also cover independent contractors who meet the criteria listed. According to the AIMPE's rules, the maritime industry is an operation on any sea going vessel. It excludes shore based operations in the maritime industry outside of shore based training.
Their membership is extremely expensive for an Australian trade union (>$1500 per annum, compared with $337 for the
TWU for example).
The AIMPE is very concerned with the use of
flags of convenience
Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag stat ...
by employers as a way of avoiding
occupational health and safety
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
conditions and employment conditions.
Even with the demise of the Australian maritime industry, there are now more members registered with the Institute than at any other time. This being due to the offshore industry requiring rigorously trained and certified engineering staff.
Their federal president is Martin Byrne.
History
The AIMPE official website recognises the conflict of interest it has, that marine engineers have, "endeavoured to find a commonality of interest with their employers" in "a world where capitalist efficiency could lead to excesses against which workers felt it necessary to protect themselves by combining for fair wages and conditions." The AIMPE has historically been divided between a professional organisation supporting the bosses (much like
APESMA), while also having the anti-boss "Not for one but for all" mentality of a trade union.
The AIMPE began as a
craft union
Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the sa ...
, using a monopoly on skill to bargain with employers. The general increase in the level of skill over the 20th century has broken this skill monopoly.
See also
*
English, Scottish and Australian Bank, The Rocks
The Rocks branch of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank (also known as the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank) is a heritage-listed former bank building and now restaurant located at 131-135 George Street in the inner city ...
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Trade unions in Australia
International Transport Workers' Federation
Seafarers' trade unions
Trade unions established in 1881
1881 establishments in Australia