Maritime Union of New Zealand

Maritime workers onboard protest at Port of Tauranga

May 16, 2007

A delegation of Maritime Union members will go onboard the vessel Buzzard Bay at the Port of Tauranga today to deliver a message to the captain about practices aboard the ship.

The Buzzard Bay is trading without an International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) agreement that guarantees employment conditions are maintained at an acceptable internationally agreed level, and the health, welfare, social and human rights of crew are also protected.

The overseas crew on the vessel have been unlashing cargo in New Zealand waters without permits.

Maritime Union welcomes growing political support for coastal shipping

February 14, 2007

The Maritime Union has welcomed Green MP Sue Bradford’s strong support of Coastal Shipping in Parliament this week.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says he supports Ms Bradford’s view presented in her Statement to the Prime Minister that there needs to be some major Budget announcements to kick start the Coastal Shipping industry.

Major new New Zealand Transport Union on track

February 9, 2007

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) and Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) have announced an ‘agreement in principle’ to form a major new transport union.

A joint negotiating team has outlined a process for the formation of the new amalgamated Union that will cover both maritime workers in ports and on vessels, Rail and other Transport Industry workers.

Further negotiations will now take place on the final structure of the new Union, with the final proposal to be voted on by all members of the RMTU and MUNZ.

A cashless Christmas for foreign fishing crews far from home

December 22, 2006

A second group of Ukrainian crew members aboard the arrested vessel Aleksandr Ksenofontov in Dunedin are at loggerheads with employers and have approached the Maritime Union seeking help.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the situation with the fishing vessel is a classic example of the problems still coming to the surface in the fishing industry.

Mr Hanson says around 14 senior crew members, believed to be officers, have approached the Dunedin police and the Maritime Union claiming their contract has been broken.

Industrial action on cards if job losses from Stadium

November 22, 2006

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says the Port of Auckland is too important to be disrupted by the proposed waterfront stadium.

Maritime Union Local 13 President Denis Carlisle says job losses are a major concern if the stadium interferes with the running of Ports of Auckland, and the Union would consider industrial action to protect workers livelihoods.

“The Ports of Auckland are asking for guarantees that they will not suffer any financial loss from the stadium project, and likewise the Maritime Union will be seeking compensation for our members for any loss of work.”

Last Kiwi crew on trans-Tasman vessel stage shipboard protest

November 4, 2006

Members of the Maritime Union are staging a protest today on board a vessel at the Ports of Auckland.

Maritime Union Auckland Seafarers Branch Secretary Garry Parsloe says the crew members started their protest on the trans-Tasman freighter Rotoiti at the Ports of Auckland Bledisloe Terminal at 7am this morning Saturday 4 November 2006.

He says the crew are drawing attention to the fact that when the Rotoiti is withdrawn from service on 26 November, it will be the end of the last New Zealand crewed ship working on the trans-Tasman trade.

Port merger must be driven by public interest, not commercial interests

November 1, 2006

The Maritime Union says that co-operation between ports and regions is vital to the future of the maritime industry and New Zealand.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the proposed merger of Ports of Auckland and Port of Tauranga needs to be managed as part of a national ports strategy driven by regional co-operation.

He says that the recent coastal shipping report by the Shipping Federation and the announcement of a Government review into casualization of employment showed that good work was being done on the problems faced by the maritime industry.

International maritime unions gather in Wellington

October 25, 2006

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.