Maritime Union of New Zealand

Maritime unions from around the Pacific are represented in Wellington this week for the second three-yearly conference of the Maritime Union of New Zealand.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand has welcomed delegations from the All Japan Dockers Union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) from the west coast of North America, and the Maritime Union of Australia, who have made presentations at the conference on industrial and political issues.
Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says several key themes have emerged from the Conference.
“We have committed to the fight for secure permanent jobs in a safe environment, for cabotage and a rational policy in the shipping and ports industry, and for fair trade not free trade.”
Mr Hanson says one serious concern emerging from the Conference was the exploitation of labour through the movement of short-term, casualized labour between and within countries under so-called “free trade” deals.
He says that the need for cabotage and the right to strike in support of other workers or political issues were other issues of interest for delegates.
The Conference was opened on Tuesday by Minister of Labour Ruth Dyson and addressed on Tuesday by CTU Secretary Carol Beaumont and Green MP Sue Bradford.
Delegates put questions to the speakers about issues such as cabotage and the concern of the Maritime Union about current free trade negotiations and the impact on jobs and conditions.
NZ First deputy leader Peter Brown will speak at the Conference today.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says it will support the Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian union movement in their fight to protect the rights of workers.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the Australian federal Government’s plans to attack job standards for workers was experienced on the New Zealand side of the Tasman Sea in the 1990s, with the Employment Contracts Act (ECA) introduced by the National Government in 1991.

“We know what Australian workers are up against – the key issues such as protection from unfair dismissal, pressure to accept inferior individual contracts, and laws to keep unions from seeing workers at their workplaces, were all familiar experiences for New Zealand workers in the 1990s,” he says.

New Zealand workers are still trying to catch up what they had lost in wages, job security and conditions years after the ECA was repealed in 2000, he says.

Mr Hanson says the two Maritime Unions work together as part of the Tasman Maritime Federation (TMF), a maritime alliance that sees workers co-operating internationally.

He says the Tasman Maritime Federation will discuss industrial, financial and political methods of helping the struggle for a fair go for workers wherever they face attacks.

“What we are talking about is the globalization of workers, where working people come together internationally for their common interests – this is a proud tradition for maritime unions around the world.”