Ports of Auckland faces $3m in lost revenue from strikes
The Ports of Auckland is facing a loss of $3 million in revenue and disruption to over $1 billion in trade if strikes by the Maritime Union slated for the next two weeks go ahead, Fairfax NZ News reports.
A series of crippling 24-hour strikes since the start of December has already cost the port $950,000 in revenue and $300m worth of trade, said the port.
More mediation is planned for Thursday with the port and the union in loggerheads over a collective agreement and the outsourcing of workers.
Chief executive Tony Gibson sent a letter to workers on Friday saying that redundancies were "almost inevitable" following global container line Maersk pulling a major service worth $20m to the port.
Voluntary redundancies would be sought as a first step, and consultation would be undertaken, the letter said.
Union president Garry Parsloe said Gibson couldn't justify these redundancies because an expanded service operated by global container shipping lines OOCL and CMA CGM had been announced that would boost shipping calls in Auckland.
Gibson said the announcement simply explained that partners in the service were involving a third shipping line in their vessel sharing agreement and replacing one ship with another.
"The move is designed to reduce their costs and is a reflection of the difficult global shipping market."
"Further industrial action will only serve to put even more jobs at risk," he said.
Gibson urged the union to withdraw the 96 hours of strikes planned between now and January 1.
The Port of Tauranga has confirmed that no more ships can divert there in the last two weeks given KiwiRail's planned closure of the North Island main rail trunk line to electrify the system.
But Parsloe said the union was unwilling to withdraw the strike notices at this stage unless more progress is made in the mediation talks. The unions has claimed that Ports of Auckland management had deliberately undermined negotiations by releasing letters to its employees to hostile political activists, including far right wing political blogger Cameron Slater who was uploading the letters on his website.
Workers were further angered by claims of inflated wages when many worked hundreds of hours of overtime a year on round the clock shifts including overnight, weekends and public holidays in a heavy industrial environment, said Parsloe.
Business groups whose members have been affected by the dispute have jumped into the fray with the Auckland Chamber of Commerce running an email campaign which the union claimed was based on discredited information and had set back negotiations with the port company.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce head Michael Barnett said 700 member businesses have taken part in a virtual protest at the strike's impact. Many expressed strong concern the action was putting them at financial risk.
Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Kim Campbell also said business and the public are tired of the cat and mouse game the union has engaged in at the port.
A series of crippling 24-hour strikes since the start of December has already cost the port $950,000 in revenue and $300m worth of trade, said the port.
More mediation is planned for Thursday with the port and the union in loggerheads over a collective agreement and the outsourcing of workers.
Chief executive Tony Gibson sent a letter to workers on Friday saying that redundancies were "almost inevitable" following global container line Maersk pulling a major service worth $20m to the port.
Voluntary redundancies would be sought as a first step, and consultation would be undertaken, the letter said.
Union president Garry Parsloe said Gibson couldn't justify these redundancies because an expanded service operated by global container shipping lines OOCL and CMA CGM had been announced that would boost shipping calls in Auckland.
Gibson said the announcement simply explained that partners in the service were involving a third shipping line in their vessel sharing agreement and replacing one ship with another.
"The move is designed to reduce their costs and is a reflection of the difficult global shipping market."
"Further industrial action will only serve to put even more jobs at risk," he said.
Gibson urged the union to withdraw the 96 hours of strikes planned between now and January 1.
The Port of Tauranga has confirmed that no more ships can divert there in the last two weeks given KiwiRail's planned closure of the North Island main rail trunk line to electrify the system.
But Parsloe said the union was unwilling to withdraw the strike notices at this stage unless more progress is made in the mediation talks. The unions has claimed that Ports of Auckland management had deliberately undermined negotiations by releasing letters to its employees to hostile political activists, including far right wing political blogger Cameron Slater who was uploading the letters on his website.
Workers were further angered by claims of inflated wages when many worked hundreds of hours of overtime a year on round the clock shifts including overnight, weekends and public holidays in a heavy industrial environment, said Parsloe.
Business groups whose members have been affected by the dispute have jumped into the fray with the Auckland Chamber of Commerce running an email campaign which the union claimed was based on discredited information and had set back negotiations with the port company.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce head Michael Barnett said 700 member businesses have taken part in a virtual protest at the strike's impact. Many expressed strong concern the action was putting them at financial risk.
Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Kim Campbell also said business and the public are tired of the cat and mouse game the union has engaged in at the port.