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Union expects mass redundancy at ports

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Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:39p.m.

Auckland waterfront

Auckland waterfront

The Maritime Union is gearing up for its 330 Auckland workers to be made redundant after the port management outlined its plan to hire outside contractors.

Union president Garry Parsloe said the requests for proposal (RFPs) outlined by management on Friday morning factored in the majority of union workers being made redundant if the outsourcing plan goes ahead.

While Ports of Auckland stressed the decision was not definite, Mr Parsloe said their actions seemed to speak otherwise.

"It seems a significant waste of energy and money on their part if they weren't," he told BusinessDesk.

Ports spokeswoman Catherine Etheredge said Friday's meeting was a chance for management to outline its vision for the proposal.

The union has previously said it would give another strike notice if the proposal for outside contracting was continued.

Mr Parsloe said no decision had been made with the ports set to offer more information on Monday.

"We haven't got the strategy sorted yet, but we won't cop it sitting down," he said.

At the same time as Friday's meeting, another meeting was taking place in London made up of various union and maritime workers groups, who discussed the dispute at Ports of Auckland and the prospect of declaring Auckland a "port of convenience".

President of the International Transport Workers Federation Paddy Crumlin told NewstalkZB they're concerned about what's going on in Auckland.

"We've determined, unless they change their mind, we're going to declare Auckland a port of convenience which gives it special attention both politically and industrially, and financially I guess," he said.

The "port of convenience" campaign has been used by the ITF to highlight international ports it believes create major obstacles to achieving decent working conditions for wharfies through privatisation, casualisation and a lack of union trade rights.

NZN

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Comments

20 Jan 2012 08:52p.m.

Ron wrote:

It is amazing how much disinformation is around. The Port workers union has actually offered to meet all of the Ports demands around flexibity however the Port continues to demand that the union be sidelined and the workers subject to a total on call status for each worker. How about thinking about peoples families and workers health and safety before demanding unrealistic profits our of the Ports operation. The people of Auckland own the Ports. Do we really want to see our local government led by Len Brown punishing workers and their families to meet a vicious anti-union and privatization agenda.

20 Jan 2012 06:50p.m.

TEGAN wrote:

this will never work until the union offers workers an insurance plan that will pay the workers wages in situations like this . they are always on a hiding to nothing. unions in NZ people are brain washed to hate unions in NZ . it is the same old same i hate the unions , union bashing its been constant for 30 years . the union is acting on votes on behalf of the workers by the workers end of story .there is a reason for those higher wages and better working conditions in Australia unions are strong over there . the second Howard attacked the workers conditions he was gone in a landslide . but you know better NZ don't you . they shaft the kiwi workers what do you do NZ jump for joy while the CEO and his mates run of with your wages .

20 Jan 2012 04:37p.m.

Chris wrote:

Isn't it funny how the Tory's will blindly defend the right of fat cat CEO's and Chief Execs to award themselves increasingly obscene amounts of money, even in the midst of a global recession. Yet when a bunch of blue collar workers simply try to stop their existing contract conditions from being eroded, they are branded 'criminal'.

20 Jan 2012 03:17p.m.

Mike wrote:

The union has had the chance to resolve the situation and chosen not to - instead to hold the port and its customers to ransom.

Now its become a situation where resolution looks impossible, ie full contracting out becomes the only alternative because the union was so concerned about their union dues they forgot about the workers jobs, now both are on the verge of being lost.

Ports of Auckland needs to be more efficient to be competitive and the union has resisted all attempts at talks towards this. Today we have a meeting in London where the union is drumming up support for more ransom demands of Ports of Auckland - this just means the ports of Auckland needs to once and forall get rid of those greedy *censored* blocking improvements at the ports. The union thinks it will be applying more pressure to cave to the union demands when all it will do is galvanise the ports into finally settling this problem for the future!

Was back about 1953 when the NZ govt sent in troops to unload/load ships because the union were a bunch of striking slackers. Even the untrained troops managed to set new records for loading/unloading ships because the union even then was pro union dues, anti-efficency/business. How many times in the last 50+ years has the union striked or had work stoppages to discuss striking etc? Go Slow working? This is one of the most unproductive unions in NZ who are more concerned about destroying NZ trade and disrupting NZ than anything else. In the past these *censored* have cost NZ billions and its time we got rid of them.

Today Tauranga Port with roughly 1/3 the staff unloads/loads more containers than Ports of Auckland as the maritime union workers are working so hard at their socialble hours ...

20 Jan 2012 01:44p.m.

aiden wrote:

good, stick it to the criminal unions.