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Don't sell our ports - Labour

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Wed, 18 Jan 2012 2:08p.m.

Ports of Auckland workers are striking for better conditions

Ports of Auckland workers are striking for better conditions

The industrial dispute afflicting Ports of Auckland is helping privatisation advocates, Labour says.

Workers are striking for better conditions, with no resolution in sight, and the party's transport spokesman Phil Twyford says it's being used to push privatisation agendas.

Privatisation of state-owned assets was the main issue of last year's election campaign and the government is going ahead with plans to partially sell four power companies.

"Pro-privatisation advocates are lining up to make capital out of the current dispute," Mr Twyford said on Wednesday.

"Ports of Auckland is a strategic asset - how would selling it off, most likely to foreign buyers, benefit New Zealand?"

Mr Twyford says the Productivity Commission is urging the government to partly privatise all New Zealand ports, Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson isn't opposed to privatisation, and political commentators are calling for a ban on local authorities running port services.

"The country needs port reform, we have too many of them are they are over-capitalised," he said.

"But the answer doesn't lie in flogging off our strategic assets nor encouraging Auckland and Tauranga to cut each other's throats by driving down wages and casualising jobs."

NZN

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Comments

25 Jan 2012 11:51a.m.

jan.. wrote:

Labour is correct' dont' sell our Ports.. Auckland Port belong to all the people of Auckland and not enough room for extension's but a beautifull view for all, and wage increases not disgrace..
Perhaps the people of Tauranga and Mount Manganui consider as they have plenty of spaces for containers and Gisborne has a large open ocean seaside for oil and consider building more railways for transportation of the goods is better than building too many prison's and again its the people's choice and not your's alone.. I support Labour..

20 Jan 2012 03:17a.m.

David wrote:

@Alex - your Marxian interpretation of how value is created is indicative of your limited knowledge of economics. VERY limited.

19 Jan 2012 11:55p.m.

katrina wrote:

@ Alex If you want profit share then get some skills take some serious financial risks and become a business owner and employer and see how hard it is. profit is not just make off the employees work but from business accumen, making cost effective decisions and having sound business plans.

19 Jan 2012 11:06p.m.

eddiewano wrote:

Bring back forced slavery and be done with this whole debate!!!

Running slaves is by far the most efficient way to run a business. Everyone with half a brain knows this so why all the useless pontificating!

Right wing reply: But were not talking about running slaves, we just want people to put in an honest days work.

Trying to reconcile both sides really does turn your brain into mush. This head &*^$ is how the right beats ya.

19 Jan 2012 10:33p.m.

John wrote:

It is obvious that the New Zealand government has sold you all out. Look a little deeper and see who makes a lot of money, ie politicians family and friends who can make them silent partners. This is a typical trait of governments who blame under achievers for higher costs. New Zealand is losing to outside influences and I will say this YOU HAVE ALREADY LOST THE BATTLE. John Keys is a sell out for his own agenda once he leaves or loses office. Politicians always create laws for their own pockets, it is as simple as that.

19 Jan 2012 06:29p.m.

helen wrote:

its funny how in new Zealand it is always the workers fault its always the unions fault . same old same old . kiwis are of the few races that are brainwashed into union hating the vary thing that brings better conditions and higher wages just look at Australia no employment contracts there . no union bashing there as soon as john Howard attack the workers rights he was out in a landslide . take a good look at yourselves NZ .there is a big reason for your peanut wages in NZ you your the reason .

19 Jan 2012 01:32p.m.

Alex wrote:

Wilbur, you're wrong on both assumptions (not that they'd matter, anyway). My point is that the source of all profit is work and, surprise surprise, it is workers who DO the work and are morally entitled to the fruits of their work. I know this doesn't fit with your conception of profit driven production, but that means we should produce for use rather than profit because production for profit is inherently exploitative.

19 Jan 2012 11:58a.m.

cherie wrote:

The unions are making things worse than they need to be. Large contracts have already been lost and expect more then you will find the workers redundant. Then lets see the unions say what a great outfit they are, who by the way remain employed all the way through

19 Jan 2012 11:29a.m.

Mike wrote:

There would probably be one benefit of a privatization of Auckland Ports.

Take Telecom before it was Telecom, were strikes left, right and centre. Just needed to have some unionist sneeze, and not even in the telecommunications industry and some union or another would go out on strike in support. Bullshit unions at their most disruptive. Since Telecom was privatized it not only become much more efficient, it also started turning a much bigger profit, plus it grew in size - and they didn't have unions holding the country to ransom every 5 minutes like the maritime union is doing currently!

NZ post also had regular postal strikes before it was NZ post. When it was privatized its service became much more dependable, and they did the same job with a fraction the staff!

Considering that the telecom/NZ predecessor became 3 companies with 3x the admin of one company, and did it with less staff, its not like the were working hard before. Privatization gave us that efficiency which would not have been possible with the union culture striking all the time to make the news.

Ports of Tauranga has implemented changes that improve port flexibility, so now with roughly 1/3 the staff they process ~65 containers an hour while Auckland with 3x the staff process ~53, ie about 3.5x more efficient and its this efficiency the union is so against as even if the staff all stay unionized, it would mean union dues of 1/3 numbers would require the union to live less lavishly and they do even less work for their pay than the maritime workers! The strikes all about money, but not workers money, it the least productive, non-worker unions wanting to keep their filthy fingers on what money it already has!

19 Jan 2012 08:52a.m.

bob wrote:

Its the 1980s sell off nz assets all over again. Just like last time we wont reap any rewards tho these who accquire these assets will.