Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says any attempt to privatize the Ports of Auckland will be met with massive opposition.

The Government wants to repeal a law requiring a referendum before shares are sold in the port as part of Super City legislation.

Maritime Union Auckland Branch Local 13 Secretary Russell Mayn says the workforce at the port is firmly opposed to any part or full privatization of the port.

“There is no mandate for it, the public want to keep ownership of their port, just like they did in the 1990s when National tried to flog it off then and failed.”

Mr Mayn says the current moves by the Local Government Minister Rodney Hide are about lining up the port for privatization in the future.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they already have the For Sale signs waiting in the basement.”

Maritime Union National Vice President Garry Parsloe says it would be very easy for the Port to fall into overseas ownership with profits being sucked out of the region, and the port serving the interests of global shipping and port operators rather than New Zealand.

Mr Parsloe says there would be a massive public backlash if the privatization of the port was attempted through the Super City process, and the Maritime Union would be supporting any community campaign to oppose privatization.

The Maritime Union was involved in the 2006 Keep Our Port Public campaign in Christchurch when the Christchurch City Council was involved in a failed attempt to part privatize the Port of Lyttelton.

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.

The Maritime Union says a just released OECD report on the New Zealand economy is a politically driven document with a right-wing, anti-working class agenda.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Trevor Hanson says some of the “market oriented reforms” proposed by the OECD report had been so discredited by the recent economic crisis and past history that it was a surprise anyone could suggest them with a straight face.

“How dare the authors of this report come out and preach policies that end in casualized jobs, long hours, shift work and low wages for New Zealand workers?”

Mr Hanson says it is obvious that New Zealand society is stressed with long hours, low wages and job insecurity creating major negative issues for working people including violence, drug abuse, crime and family breakdown.

“The real aim of these so-called experts is to teach workers to be constantly worried about job loss, comply with every request of their boss no matter how unreasonable, have husbands and wives working different shifts, and see wages constantly losing ground against the cost of living and shareholder profits. This is the reality of New Zealand today.”

He says this is a result of the deregulated, 24 hour/7 day society, where family life and community life are under constant attack from the “demands of the mighty dollar.”

Mr Hanson says the result of free market and free trade policies is the creation of a “working poor” in New Zealand and a group of people trapped in insecure casual work who were now being hit by rising unemployment.

He says that proposals to “bring back the privatization agenda from the dead” and sell off ports and rail were clearly aimed at benefiting global corporations rather than the New Zealand public.

“Through privatization policies of the past, assets were stripped, infrastructure run down, land and industry hocked off to passing speculators and profits drained overseas, while New Zealand accumulates debt and we become tenants in our own country.”

Mr Hanson says the push to dismantle New Zealand’s public health system was a sign that this is on the agenda for big business.

“Does the OECD want an American health system where tens of millions of workers can’t even afford to get health care and they want to see your credit rating when they come to pick you up in an ambulance?”

Mr Hanson says it is time New Zealand workers resisted attempts to turn them into full time production units to make profits for global corporations.

“We need to run society to ensure security and stability and a decent life for all people.”

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.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says that any proposal to privatize the Ports of Auckland would create a “perfect storm of opposition.”

Maritime Union Local 13 President Denis Carlisle says those pushing the plan were people out of time.

“There is obviously a faction out there who want to bring back port privatization plans from the dead.”

Mr Carlisle says that the privatization strategy with the Ports of Auckland failed in the 1990s due to mass public opposition and recent attempts to part-privatize the Ports of Lyttelton had also ended in failure.

“It seems bizarre at a time when the deregulation and privatization agenda has now been completely discredited globally, there are people who still want to continue on down the same old path.”

He says that the port has recently seen major productivity gains and to complain about reduced profits when the global economy was in crisis showed privatization proponents were out of touch with reality.

Mr Carlisle says it was obvious that there were problems with the port system in New Zealand.

These problems were due to lack of a national ports plan and regulation, leading to self-destructive competition and the casualization of the workforce, and privatization would only make matters worse.

“In the end analysis, the role of ports is to ensure the flow of goods to and from New Zealand, not as a cash cow for private investors looking for a quick buck.”

He says it made no sense for a small, maritime trade dependant nation like New Zealand to pass over control of its transport infrastructure to private interests whose only motive is short term profit.

He says that if board members were not comfortable with the status of the Ports of Auckland they should clear out.

For more information, contact Maritime Union Local 13 Auckland Waterfront Branch President Denis Carlisle on 021963528

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has offered qualified support to the merger of Lyttelton Port Company and the Port of Otago announced today.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the Union is a strong backer of ports remaining in local control to preserve employment and business opportunities.

“We are pleased to see local control as the Union has long been opposed to the loss of key infrastructure to overseas interests.”

Mr Hanson says the relationship between the new structure and the Ports of Timaru and Southport (Bluff) needs to be looked at.

“It is our view that any process should involve other ports in the region, New Zealand cannot afford to have port rationalization disrupt local economies and cause problems at a time of global recession. Ports are not ordinary businesses – they are the essential part of the supply chain between New Zealand and the global economy.”

Mr Hanson says the Union is watching developments closely as it is concerned to about members jobs.

“Obviously this announcement will mean the long talked about process of port rationalization is now well underway, but we have to ensure the process is carried out in a sensible way to minimize any insecurity or confusion.”

Mr Hanson says the opportunity is there for a national ports plan and some form of national ownership to avoid the tendency to parochial competition and duplication of resources under the current model.

“Could it be time to consider KiwiPort?”

He says the current world financial crisis makes the Port Chalmers-Lyttelton announcement all the more relevant.

Mr Hanson says the move is a natural fit for recent moves by the Government to encourage domestic coastal shipping.

“The only caution we have is that employees of these companies are given every consideration in retaining employment within any new structure that evolves.”