Auckland port dispute heats up

Auckland port dispute heats up
Dave Badger Tue, 13 Mar 2012
Police called and injunctions filed as Maersk denies it will avoid the port

The four-month dispute at New Zealand’s port of Auckland is set to enter the courtroom amid increasingly angry scenes over almost 300 redundancies.Maersk Line has denied it is avoiding the port, but says it does have contingency plans.The Maritime Union of New Zealand has reportedly filed an injunction with the country’s Employment Court in an attempt to halt the redundancies, while police were called on Monday after a complaint that non-union staff and truck drivers had been physically prevented from entering the terminal complex. The industrial action delayed at least one containership as well as a cruise ship at a neighbouring wharf. Ports of Auckland (PoA) Chairman Richard Pearson dismissed Maritime Union of New Zealand claims that its protest had been lawful. Police told those on the picket line to let the vehicles through, but made no arrests as protestors, port and union leaders gathered at the town hall. PoA sacked 292 workers, mainly stevedores, last week in an escalation of its four-month industrial dispute with its staff. The dock workers, or “wharfies” as they are known locally, are angry after PoA replaced the union workers with outside contractors. PoA says the dispute is not about money, but performance which they claim is inferior to rivals like Brisbane and Sydney. Yesterday, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) dockers’ section secretary Frank Leys said: “This is a blatant attempt at union busting and that’s something that the international trade union community just won’t stand for.” The Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown, whose council owns the port, tried to mediate in the dispute, but angered some by stating his dissatisfaction with union bosses whom he said dithered for eight months when they could have been bargaining. Port workers in Wellington and Australia have shown solidarity with their Auckland counterparts by refusing to unload ships handled by non-union workers in Auckland.