Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union says it intends to make sure a Government inquiry into transport and logistics is not just about promoting privatization in the ports sector.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the Union will be taking an active and critical approach in its contributions to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into International Freight Transport Services.

“We won’t be accepting any status quo thinking and ‘free market is best’ assumptions that sometimes accompanies these reports.”

Key issues for the Union include keeping control of New Zealand ports in New Zealand hands.

Mr Fleetwood says any move to privatize ports would quickly result in the control of New Zealand’s logistics infrastructure passing to GNT (global network terminal) operators and shippers, who would operate the system for their own benefit, not New Zealand’s benefit.

He says many problems with New Zealand ports currently come from lack of planning and co-ordination, not through lack of competition.

“The Maritime Union is proposing a KiwiPort concept where port ownership remains in community control but national co-ordination is used to minimize disruption and end the duplication of infrastructure we currently see.”

The Maritime Union had been arguing for years that secure permanent jobs, a career path for young people entering the industry, and world leading health and safety had to underpin any productivity gains.

“There is no point expecting productivity from casualized workers who are not properly trained and for whom there is no career path. But this is the approach of many employers in the industry.”

“We will be making sure that productivity is not just an accounting term for employer profit, but refers to the wellbeing of workers in the industry.”

He says the Union questions some of the assumptions suggested by the Productivity Commission, including a concept of competition as an intrinsic good.

“In the maritime industry, competition has driven corner cutting on health and safety which has led to deaths and injuries, downwards pressure on wages and conditions resulting in casualization, and a lack of national co-ordination in the port sector.”

“We are looking at the real world situation, not an economics textbook. We are the people who are out there being productive around the clock and we expect our voices to carry some weight.”

The Maritime Union is also promoting a much greater role for coastal shipping as an important part of the low-impact, environmentally sustainable transport mix of the 21st century.

Coastal shipping and regional ports also provide an important security and civil defence function, as had been seen during the Christchurch Earthquake disaster, when ports provided the main emergency logistics link for relief supplies.

The Maritime Union is calling for the abandonment of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, describing the free trade plan as a “sell out to global corporations.”

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the great majority of New Zealanders and even our political representatives have little understanding of the implications of free trade deals like the TPPA.

“Free trade agreements such as the TPPA are giving global corporations more power to do as they want regardless of what is good for the majority of people.”

“Decisions that affect all of us are being made behind closed doors in free trade stitch ups.”

The Maritime Union is actively supporting a number of campaigns including TPPWatch and New Zealand Not For Sale that are calling for a halt to the TPPA and public accountability.

Mr Fleetwood says the free trade agreements harm the democratic rights of workers who make up the majority.

“These agreements are eroding democracy, in favour of control of our economy and society by powerful global corporations.”

He says that maritime workers work in the first globalized industry, the maritime industry, and understand what unregulated “free trade” means.

One example he says is the so-called “open coast” policy, that allows overseas owned and crewed vessels to carry New Zealand cargo between New Zealand ports, and which had devastated New Zealand shipping.

“As a result New Zealand is now a remote island trading nation that has allowed its shipping capability to be placed in jeopardy.”

The fishing industry had also had countless problems over the years with the abuse of overseas crew on overseas vessels fishing New Zealand waters.

Mr Fleetwood says the use of Flag of Convenience vessels and the creation of Ports of Convenience were a warning of where free trade deals could lead a small nation like New Zealand.

“One of the issues the Maritime Union has raised include the use of short-term cross border labour being used, which is becoming increasingly common around the world.”

“This is used to drive down wages and conditions and create a casualized, insecure workforce, hurting both the local workers and the imported workers.”

Other concerns of the Maritime Union include the privatization of assets such as ports and transport.

“New Zealand should be purchasing goods from local and public enterprises, and ensuring we maintain a balanced economy, with secure, high paid jobs.”

Mr Fleetwood says that New Zealand’s economy will always be based on trade, so the Union supported a system of global fair trade that worked to ensure secure jobs and balanced economic development.

He says there is a growing global movement against the deregulated free market and free trade policies that had caused economic disasters such as the global financial meltdown of the last several years.

The Maritime Union has dismissed comments by global shipping line Maersk about the merger of Port of Lyttelton and Port of Otago.

The two ports announced a planned merger of operations yesterday, subject to approval by the Chamber of Commerce.

Maersk New Zealand managing director Julian Bevis was reported today as saying he had concerns about the “dominance” of the new port structure and how this would affect prices, services and market competition.

Mr Fleetwood says it is hard to take such concerns with a straight face.

“Maersk is a massive operation, the world’s largest shipping and container terminal conglomerate, and they must really be short of things to worry about if this is all they can come up with.”

He says that Maersk’s ongoing global growth through mergers and acquisitions indicated that they had no concerns with any effect on competition by their own operations.

Mr Fleetwood says the goal of any capitalist corporate like Maersk was to dominate the market and reduce their risk and exposure to competition.

“Let’s face it, the reality is that they are the ones dominating the market and threatening competition, not two ports in the South Island of New Zealand.”

Mr Fleetwood says the problem with New Zealand ports was the exact opposite of Mr Bevis’ claims.

“New Zealand ports have long been played off against each other by powerful shipping companies, and even large local corporates such as Fonterra.”

This has resulted in serious disruption to regional ports, which had many negative implications for New Zealand’s economy and social stability.

Mr Fleetwood says the Maritime Union was cautiously optimistic about the merger between Port of Lyttelton and Port of Otago.

“Obviously it is early days, but ports working together like this could have benefits, as long as it does not lead to any regional ports being undermined.”

He says the Union would like to see ports remain under public ownership, but also come under some form of national co-ordination, a concept which the Union calls “Kiwiport.”

“Ports are not just another business, they are key infrastructure, and the gateway for New Zealand exports and imports. They need to be operated in the national interest.”

The Maritime Union had been active in the Keep Our Port Public campaign in 2006 during an unsuccessful attempt to part-privatize Port of Lyttelton through a deal with global terminal operator Hutchison.

On Wednesday 23 December representatives from the Maritime Union of New Zealand, Auckland Branch, Local 13 met with Labour MP’s Trevor Mallard, Phil Twyford and Darien Fenton regarding the future of key Auckland assets under the proposed Super City legislation.
Local 13 President Garry Parsloe, Secretary Russell Mayn and Maritime Walking Delegate Dave Phillips expressed their concern over the future of the Ports of Auckland which is under the cloud of privatization signalled by the removal of the public referendum safeguard covering this strategic public asset.
Garry Parsloe said that a city the size of Auckland depended on a vibrant port to sustain future growth, and the benefits returned to Auckland ratepayers through public ownership were significant. Not only does the port return profits to the public but it supported industry throughout the Auckland region.
It became clear that a lack of planning for an integrated Logistics Chain Strategy under a National Government would lead to further congestion on New Zealand roads.
With the demise of the Labour Party’s Roadways to Waterways Policy a void has been left in the future planning for an efficient New Zealand Transport Chain.
Rail and Coastal Shipping would play a key role in reducing the “Carbon Footprint” going into the future, and a policy to retain these key strategic assets in public control was essential as the demand for exports and imports increased over the next decade.
The Labour Party and the Union agreed to meet early in the New Year for formulate a policy that would address these issues and the wider issue of all Auckland public assets.
Mr Mayn commented that the future of the Ports of Auckland had been placed in the hands of the citizens of Auckland and the actions of Act MP Rodney Hide and the National Party to remove legislation protecting the Ports without consulting with the Auckland public were reprehensible.

The Maritime Union says it is concerned about the intentions of the Government towards Auckland’s public assets under the proposed SuperCity.

The union represents several hundred workers at the Ports of Auckland, which provides a major income to the people of Auckland who own the port through the Auckland Regional Council.

Maritime Union Local 13 Secretary Russell Mayn says there has been an ongoing “softening up” campaign from big business interests to sell off the Ports of Auckland so they can get their hands on them.

He says there is serious cause for concern that the SuperCity plan for Auckland’s local government will be used to push forward privatization of assets – including the port.

“Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide has made it very clear that he favours sell offs of the people’s assets which could see the ports along with land, infrastructure and water as monopolies owned by overseas corporations.”

The fact that these assets are regional and local assets, not state assets, provides an escape clause from the Prime Minister John Key’s promise not to privatize any public assets in this term of the Government.

Mr Mayn says the evidence shows the majority of Aucklanders are opposed to privatization of local assets.

“The Maritime Union will strongly advocate for keeping public assets such as the Ports of Auckland in public hands.”

He says the Maritime Union is supporting Auckland MP Phil Twyford’s Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill and the “Not Yours To Sell” campaign to keep Auckland’s public assets in public hands.

Maritime Union Local 13 President Denis Carlisle argues in the New Zealand Herald that attempts to rehash the privatization of the Ports of Auckland are pointless.