Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says secure jobs, improved wages and conditions, national sovereignty, and major improvements to New Zealand’s maritime and transport policy are its election priorities.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says there is an immediate need for an effective, efficient and environmentally friendly transport and logistics chain.

He says that the potential privatization and overseas buy up of New Zealand ports is a major threat to New Zealand remaining in control of its supply chain.

The current Government had no plan for coastal shipping, and the stranding of the Rena and problems with Foreign Charter Vessels (FCVs) in the fishing industry were glaring examples of how deregulation and falling standards were reducing New Zealand to the status of a developing nation.

“The National Government has focussed its entire transport strategy on putting more trucks on the road, when we need to be moving in the opposite direction of rail and coastal shipping to provide low impact, environmentally aware transport for the future.”

Mr Fleetwood says that worker’s wages and conditions were under enormous pressure, and unemployment was wrecking the lives of many, including the vulnerable young.

“The reality is that most workers in jobs are working longer, harder and for relatively less, and at the same time we see tens of thousands excluded from work and then attacked for being beneficiaries.”

The working class in New Zealand today are underpaid and over-worked, with high unemployment, casualization and a shrinking share of the economic pie, says Mr Fleetwood.

“This must be addressed not only by economic growth, but by increasing the share of wealth produced going to the producers – the workers.”

Casualization of jobs was creating massive problems in working class communities and was being ignored by the Government.

The third concern of the Union was how New Zealand’s sovereignty was being undermined.

New Zealanders must have the right to make our own economic and political choices, says Mr Fleetwood.

“This right is undermined by free trade deals such as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, and John Key’s proposed asset sales that will remove our ability to determine our collective future as a community and nation.”

New Zealanders were in serious danger of becoming tenants in their own country if the National Party asset sales and privatization agenda was allowed to continue.

The full Maritime Union election statement could be viewed online at http://www.munz.org.nz/2011-election/

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says the decision by KiwiRail to offshore production of rail wagons is an indictment on the National Government and KiwiRail management.

KiwiRail has announced a $29 million tender for 300 rail wagons has gone to China CNR Corporation.

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says maritime workers had supported the campaign by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) to build New Zealand rolling stock in New Zealand workshops.

He says the idea that the move to offshore production would “save money” was idiotic.

“Any money saved by the public enterprise KiwiRail going for the cheap labour option in China will be required to pay for unemployment benefits, for our increased overseas debt, and for the loss of taxes and loss of spin off benefits for the local economy in New Zealand.”

“This decision will lead to loss of job opportunities, and is another blow to New Zealand’s ability to undertake high skill industrial production.”

Mr Fleetwood says that the Government bears responsibility and should front up to affected workers and communities.

“They change laws to suit Hollywood movie moguls and sink vast amounts of money into trendy sectors, but will not back New Zealand workers and the future of New Zealand industry.”

Mr Fleetwood says the message is clear for workers.

“The John Key Government is prepared to wind down New Zealand’s infrastructure and industrial capability in vital areas. There is no leadership in shipping or ports, and now no leadership in rail.”

“They call themselves a National Government, but they are governing in the interests of overseas business, not New Zealand’s national interest.”

Mr Fleetwood says that New Zealand’s entrapment in free trade agreements would further limit our ability for local industry and reduce New Zealand to an economic colony.

The Maritime Union has attacked what it describes as the “narrowness of vision” in yet another report into the state of New Zealand’s ports.
Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the Ministry of Transport commissioned Freight Futures report travelled down well worn paths and added little to the debate.
He says the latest report promotes a free market agenda that was now globally discredited and driven only by corporate self-interest.
Possibly the intent of the report was to provide justification for the continuing “avoidance” approach of the National Government to ports policy – which could be summed up by the words of the song “What ever will be, will be.”
Mr Fleetwood says the new NZIER report repeats material from the recent Port Performance and Ownership report to the Local Government Forum, which represents big business and private sector interests.The report was biased against workers in the industry who it portrays as a problem, was hostile to public ownership and had a “thinly veiled contempt” for democratic institutions like local Government.
Claims that New Zealand port performance had been harmed by the Employment Relations Act were not accurate or backed with any substantive evidence.Mr Fleetwood says he is concerned that the reality of reduced pay and conditions, continuing health and safety issues, and the destruction of career paths and secure jobs for young workers in the ports industry, were not covered by the report.
He says the regular deaths and injuries of workers in the maritime industry, including overseas crews, showed a human cost to the so-called efficiencies of the free market.
“They didn’t put anything about that in the report though, as the lives and wellbeing of the workers in the industry do not seem to come into the equation.”"All it shows to me is that this is the usual bloodless and dry approach by people who have nothing to do with the industry and for whom short term profit is the only measure of success.”
“The authors of this report obviously have no understanding of how the increased usage of poorly trained and unskilled casual workers, and difficult and unsafe working conditions on some older and smaller ships calling at our ports, can impact on these statistics.”
The smaller size of New Zealand ports was just one reason why so-called efficiency comparisons with huge global terminals overseas was misleading.
These “underproductivity” arguments are rejected by many in the industry, and Fonterra’s General Manager of Logistics Nigel Jones had publicly responded to similar claims in a previous NZIER report by stating it was dangerous to look at issues such as crane productivity in isolation, because ports were part of the supply chain.
Mr Fleetwood says as taxpayers and wealth producers, maritime workers object to subsidizing reports by people who are remote from the everyday reality of our industry.
The Maritime Union has proposed an active maritime and ports policy rather than the fatalistic approach of the current Government.”We propose ‘KiwiPort’ a national ports plan, cabotage for coastal shipping and the investigation of New Zealand investment in shipping for our global trade routes.”The growth of specialist areas such as the offshore industry also had the potential for developing a high skill industry, and needed to be factored into any maritime policy.

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.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand is backing calls to tighten up industry regulations to protect truck drivers and the travelling public.

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says a report in the Sunday Star Times yesterday graphically outlined the dangers of over-worked owner-drivers pushed to the limits in an aggressive and competitive market.

“This is the reality of a individualized industry where drivers do not have the protections of union membership and are being exploited in a hyper-competitive environment by the big companies they contract to.”

Mr Fleetwood says that in the process the lives and safety not just of truck drivers, but of New Zealanders and their families on the road, are put at risk of serious injury and death.

Long hours, fast speeds and deferral of expensive maintenance on vehicles were all factors causing problems.

He says the Government push for more heavy trucks on the road, when combined with a deregulated industry, was a recipe for carnage on New Zealand roads.

Mr Fleetwood says the whole owner-driver model needed to be examined, as most owner-drivers were simply workers who had been pushed into a dependent contractor model.

Pay rates, hours of work and industry regulation all needed to be on the table for discussion, he said.

He says the Maritime Union would continue to push for a balanced transport strategy that saw the bulk of heavy and long distance cargo transported on coastal shipping and rail, rather than creating congestion and hazards through heavy trucking.

“The current Government’s obsession with heavy trucking is backward, socially irresponsible and environmentally harmful, and we need a new direction for New Zealand transport.”

The Maritime Union would be working with Labour’s Transport Safety spokesperson Darien Fenton on the issue.

Two of New Zealand’s main transport unions have formed a strategic alliance focussed on the New Zealand waterfront.

National officials of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) this week signed an Alliance Charter in Wellington.

The key goal of the charter is to grow unionism and collectivity amongst Port and Waterfront workers through joint action and initiatives.

The charter is based around communication, information sharing, joint campaigning, a political strategy and a national organizing strategy.

Both unions are affiliates of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the International Transport Workers Federation, and the Trans Tasman Transport Union Alliance.

Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the Alliance Charter is focussed on getting all port and waterfront workers in New Zealand into genuine unions and building terms and conditions on the waterfront.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union General Secretary Wayne Butson says that joint projects between the two unions have already been discussed which will enhance the power and influence of organized labour on the New Zealand waterfront.

He says the strategic alliance will have a major impact on the transport and logistics sector within New Zealand and internationally.