Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has corrected misleading information from the CEO of Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL) on the current industrial dispute.

POAL chief executive Tony Gibson was quoted in the New Zealand Herald today saying no official response for further negotiations in the current industrial dispute had been received from the Maritime Union.

He described the Union actions as “misleading”.

In response, Maritime Union National President Garry Parsloe has released a letter sent by the Maritime Union last week (27 January 2012) to Mr Gibson, that clearly shows this is not the case.

In the letter, which is available online, the Maritime Union confirmed its position on management’s offer, and specifically requests port management to return to negotiations.

The letter identifies a number of areas where the Maritime Union had offered to work with management on labour utilization issues to find a negotiated settlement.

While it was acknowledged by POAL management that these changes “significantly addressed the labour utilisation issues at the port” and were “big” in terms of cost savings, management had rejected settling the collective employment agreement.

Mr Parsloe says too much time was being taken up in the dispute by dealing with material that was intended to confuse and obscure the basic issues of the dispute – the right of workers to secure jobs and decent conditions.

“We’d prefer the energy to be spent on negotiations, rather than having to continually rebut this rubbish that is being spread in the public domain by POAL management.”

The Maritime Union has announced further industrial action to protect secure jobs at Ports of Auckland.

A meeting was held this morning in Auckland attended by around 300 port workers.

Maritime Union National President Garry Parsloe says the meeting of workers voted to place further strike action on the port.

The strike action would run from 7am on 15 February 2012 until 7am on 22 February 2012.

The strike action would not be continuous, but would involve members refusing to work containers that had been delivered to or moved around the Ports of Auckland by Conlinxx.

Conlinxx is the majority owned POAL company that has already been used to outsource jobs at the Ports of Auckland.

Mr Parsloe says this is legal and protective action to protect jobs and family livelihoods from outsourcing and casualization.

He says the industrial action was taken with reluctance, but was necessary as port management refused to negotiate.

“It is aimed at getting management to negotiate rather than dictate. The Union is prepared to work through productivity and other issues but not under the type of threats the management are holding over its employees.”

Mr Parsloe said the Maritime Union members had received support for their cause from many workers in New Zealand as well as overseas.

The Maritime Union says the debate about the expansion of the Ports of Auckland shows a port company management who were out of touch and isolated.

Maritime Union National President Garry Parsloe says the debate about the port expansion was an example of the intransigence the workers at the Port are facing.

He points out that a “take it or leave it” attitude of port management had extended from their own workforce in the current industrial dispute, and was now evident in an agenda to privatize and expand the port regardless of public concerns.

Mr Parsloe says while the Maritime Union is 100% behind a busy working port in the heart of Auckland, it understands the need to work through the issues in a democratic way to find a negotiated solution which includes sharing this beautiful piece of land with the people of Auckland.

“We have to share the waterfront in Auckland, it can be used creatively to run the Port and so that recreational users can enjoy it waterfront. The Port is single minded in its plans – it is basically saying stuff the workers and stuff the city.”

“As we have experienced, this management team don’t believe in negotiation. They won’t negotiate with their workforce. On the port expansion issue, they won’t even negotiate with their owners, the people of Auckland.”

Mr Parsloe says POAL management actions threatened to destroy the relationships that underpinned the future of the port.

The other irony that won’t be lost is the contrast between the port management claim that it will lose business without casualising the workforce and its justification for expansion based on massive growth.

“This is a port management and a CEO who has spent months bagging his own business, running it down, saying it was doomed. But at the same time, POAL expansion plans show it is a port whose future is assured.”

Over the last 20 years, container growth had averaged 6.74% growth, but improvements in productivity had allowed the port to do more with less space.

Mr Parsloe says while the Maritime Union did not often agree with the statements of Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney, he says the Union thought that his request that there was an opportunity for a review of the port’s plans by the people of Auckland was a good one.

“We believe that the decision on issues like port expansion, privatization and outsourcing should not be left with a self-interested management cabal pursuing their own opaque agendas.”

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has condemned the employment of Jon Mayson by Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL) management during the current industrial dispute.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National President Garry Parsloe says the Port Company management must make public the cost of employing Mr Mayson and what his role will be.

“This management are very good at circulating lies about the income of port workers, but have never responded to a request to let us know how much they earn.”

“So at least let us know how much money they are paying out for Mr Mayson to attack their own employees. After all, that money is being paid for by the people of Auckland to wreck their own port.”

Mr Parsloe says a “top heavy” Ports of Auckland management were obviously incapable of managing, and despite their considerable salaries were throwing more public money towards outside fixers and a failing propaganda war against their own workers.

“POAL management are now engaged in a politicized attack on their own workforce as part of a wider outsourcing and privatization agenda.”

He says the dishonesty of port company management and their real agenda was beginning to emerge under the unforgiving light of day.

“POAL management say that they are engaged in a negotiation process, and they are consulting with their employees – but at the same time they are bringing in expensive individuals whose only role is to outsource employees jobs and destroy their family life through insecure hours of work and income.”

Mr Mayson is a former CEO of Ports of Tauranga.

Mr Parsloe says the plight of workers at Ports of Tauranga has been ignored.

“These workers lives have been blighted by insecure jobs and casualization, and the multiple deaths of workers at Port of Tauranga in a short space of time is also ignored.”

Mr Parsloe says the actions of Ports of Auckland management had now attracted the attention of the international workers movement and the latest move would result in continued disruption and harm to the Ports of Auckland.

“As always the Maritime Union is offering to work towards a negotiated solution, whereas port management are working to their own agenda which is becoming clearer day by day.”

The Maritime Union has criticized the circulation of a “fact sheet” produced for the Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL) management that repeats incorrect information.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National President Garry Parsloe says not only is the “fact sheet” misleading, but it is a symptom of a deeply politicized management who need to be brought under control by the ports shareholders.

Mr Parsloe says the document produced by Ernst and Young indicates that management are now engaged in an expensive and unaccountable public relations war against their own employees, funded by Auckland ratepayers.

He says the Ports of Auckland Limited do not have this new fact sheet obviously available on their own corporate website [as of 9pm 24 January 2012], but it has appeared during the day on various right wing blogs including National Party affiliated individuals in what appears to be a political campaign by senior managers at the Port.

Mr Parsloe says the Ernst and Young produced fact sheet repeats the misinformation propagated by POAL management.

He says it avoids the fundamental issues in this dispute which are about security of employment and privatisation, not pay rates.

Mr Parsloe says POAL management has offered to increase pay by 10% over 30 months, while the union is asking for a far more modest 2.5% increase for 12 months.

The facts:

Originally POAL management claimed stevedore wages were averaging $91,000 for 26 hours work.  The new fact sheet shows this to be incorrect.

The new POAL fact sheet claims the average salary is $91,000 but does not say what hours are needed to earn this amount of money – it is clear many hours are needed at the rate of $27 per hour including many shifts and overtime hours.

The fact sheet claims the average hours are 43 per week but does not say what a person on these hours would earn or what a person must work to earn $91,000.  This is because significant extra hours are required to earn this type of income.

The fact sheet admits the figure of $91,000 continues to include other employment related costs and not simply wages (a point not made clear in original statements from the Port).

The fact sheet fails to acknowledge that the union position in bargaining was to increase labour utilisation rates at the Port in a way POAL management acknowledged was “significant” in terms of this issue and “big” in terms of cost savings – but this was rejected by the company in favour of contracting out.

If as the port fact sheet says, the real issue is the amount of downtime, then the Port needs to explain why proposals to address this were rejected in recent negotiations with the union, says Mr Parsloe.

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