Port of Auckland strike heats up




The dispute over dockers jobs at the Port of Auckland has escalated.
The dock workers are enraged following the Ports of Auckland’s decision to axe 300 jobs and replace the workers with outside contractors.
The employers stated that the dispute is not about money but performance which they say is proving inferior to rivals like Brisbane and Sydney, as freight on container vessels is delayed in other ports whilst unions claim that a leaked document proves the aim is to improve financial returns for the owners Auckland Council Investments Ltd.
Unions say they have evidence that the council owned investment group wants to raise returns to around 12% in five years and the redundancies are needed to fund operational savings.
Yesterday the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) confirmed that thousands of people turned out to a rally in support of the Auckland workers and to show solidarity with members of the ITF affiliated Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ).
A message sent from 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. And, from the turnout at this rally it’s clear it’s not just unions who think the ports management’s treatment of Auckland workers is wrong. Workers from other industries agree that action must be taken to stop big business profiting at the expense of ordinary people who are just trying to make a living."
The redundancies are planned to take place within the next six weeks with stevedoring services being contracted to private companies whilst there have been court injunctions to compel dock workers in other New Zealand ports to load and unload several container vessels delayed by the strike and worked on by non union labour.
On Friday Ports of Auckland announced it has signed contracts with Drake New Zealand and AWF Group following its decision to introduce competitive stevedoring at its Fergusson and Bledisloe Container Terminal operations.

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