The maritime union has rejected suggestions employer payments of up to $1 million were bribes to avoid industrial action on oil and gas projects, a royal commission has heard.
The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said a $1 million payment to its training organisation was made to protect the future of Australian seafaring jobs, and denied the money was the price to keep industrial peace.
Portuguese engineering firm Saipem paid the money to the Maritime Employees Training Ltd (METL) in 2008 as it worked on an undersea pipeline to the Blacktip gasfield off the coast of Darwin in 2008.
The unions corruption royal commission heard Saipem wanted to use foreign tug boats and sailors because of a shortage of Australian workers - a plan fiercely opposed by the MUA.
After negotiations, the parties agreed $1 million would be paid into METL to address future labour skills shortages and the project would proceed.
METL is a not-for-profit, audited training organisation set up by the MUA to train a local workforce in the oil and gas sector
Counsel assisting the commission Jeremy Stoljar SC suggested the payment was made so the MUA would not cause "industrial strife" on the Blacktip project, which included a remote ocean platform and nearly 400km of pipeline.
The commission also heard another oil and gas company paid $50,000 into a MUA fighting fund, and $200,000 plus $300,000 in training payments in return for using foreign labour.
MUA WA branch secretary Chris Cain said the foreign companies had supported paying the contributions.
"I've explained numerous times to numerous companies about working together so that when these companies leave Australia and come back, the skills will be there for Australians to do the work," he told the commission.
He dismissed evidence that he had threatened to shut down the Blacktip project over a slow payment as "a furphy".
"We've never had any industrial disputes," he said.
Saipem's project manager at the time, Fabio Di Giorgi, told the commission the payment to the training fund was "a gesture of the good faith towards the maritime employees" and also to "calm them down" - meaning no more industrial issues would be raised on the worksite.
Mr Stoljar pressed Mr Di Giorgi on whether the payment was made to buy industrial peace with the union.
Email records showed an executive of ENI, the company which owned the gasfield project, was concerned when Saipem explained the $1 million was to "maintain the relationships" with the union and reduce industrial risks.
"I think this sounds a little too much like a bribe," the executive wrote.
Mr Di Giorgio said the concern about the payment was only raised by one person.
"I never believed that this was ... a bribe," he said.
MUA national secretary Paddy Crumlin had been summoned and flew back from London to appear, but he was not called at Monday's hearing.
Outside the commission Mr Crumlin attacked the inquiry set up by the coalition federal government as an "absolute waste of taxpayers' money".
"There is no slush funds, every dollar that was collected off employers was given willingly to train young Australians to work on those short term contract jobs and other jobs in the industry," he said.
Mr Crumlin said the training fund was necessary because "big multinational hydrocarbon companies" were not investing in training local workers.
The Royal Commission into Union Governance and Corruption continues in Sydney.
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