Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union says that protection for casual workers in the economic recession is a major focus for 2009.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the Union is interested in meeting with the incoming Minister of Labour in the new National-led Government to discuss the plight of casual workers.

He says it is important that casual workers are not left out of plans to provide security to workers in a recession.

“Both main parties are committed to measures to protect incomes in the case of redundancy in the recession period. The Maritime Union wants to ensure casual workers are not missed out.”

Mr Hanson says when unemployment grows, those workers in casual jobs will be hit hardest and hit first.

The Union had a two step plan, the first goal being to work for permanent, secure jobs, and the second goal being to ensure any casual workers received support and protection.

Mr Hanson says the flow of skilled workers to Australia will increase in a recession unless the maritime industry offered career paths especially for young people, based around secure jobs, training and stability.

“Casualization is putting the future of many young people in jeopardy, and many workers who have been in the industry for years are still in the casualization trap.”

He says a casualization review started by Labour and New Zealand First should be continued by the incoming Government in order to provide continuity and to address an ongoing structural problem in the New Zealand economy.

“Mr Key has indicated he wants an inclusive approach and the Maritime Union would say that a good test of this will be whether this serious issue is addressed.”

“The Maritime Union sees a top priority as secure jobs in the maritime industry, and all sectors of the New Zealand economy. A casualized, low-skilled workforce can only disadvantage New Zealand and the Maritime Union are committed to a secure, high-skill permanent workforce in New Zealand’s maritime industry.”

The Maritime Union says that membership in a union is the best strategy for workers to get protections at a time of international economic turmoil.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says that while both major political parties have been outlining pre-election “job transition policies” to assist redundant workers, the best guarantee for workers to do even better was to join a union today.

Mr Hanson says while minimum redundancy provisions, retraining and Working for Families were all part of the mix, workers needed to unionize to protect wages and conditions, especially as unemployment and job security would be major issues for 2009.

“The last National Government in the 1990s oversaw a collapse in union membership due to the anti-worker Employment Contracts Act, with a subsequent collapse of wages and conditions for workers, and we are still trying to regain lost ground a decade later.”

He says if a new National Government was elected, its promises to both cut taxes and keep services would be impossible in a recession, and they would “revert to form” by finding ways to cut down the share of national income that went to workers.

“Regardless of who is elected, workers should seek to negotiate better than the minimum.”

Mr Hanson says redundancy agreements are the norm in Union negotiated agreements, but many non-unionized workers were in an vulnerable position as the labour market tightens and unemployment rises due to global conditions.

“The best guarantee that workers can have to ensure they have good wages and conditions, and provisions for redundancy, is to be a member of a union that negotiates well on their behalf.”

Mr Hanson says strong regulations to protect workers from the worst of the fallout from the global economic meltdown were important, but a strong independent Union movement was the key to advancing workers interests.