It
has been announced that the Ports of Auckland management have signed a
collective agreement with the scab union PortPro that was established by 30
strikebreaking stevedores.
This
is a setback for the Maritime Union, which has been trying to negotiate a new
collective agreement since August of 2011. Even the National Business
Review is questioning whether the move by the Port of
Auckland is legal or not, as it is surely aimed at undermining MUNZ's position:
Bell Gully employment
lawyer Liz Coats says the port's move could be seen as undermining the Maritime
Union's bargaining position, which is illegal under the Employment Relations
Act.
"If Maritime Union members decide they want to join PortPro, that undermines the leverage that the Maritime Union has in its collective bargaining because it doesn't have as much pressure on the port any more.
"The port is not going to be as desperate to accept whatever terms the Maritime Union is putting on the table because it's got a workforce that is not striking."
The scab contract is similar to one
at the Port of Tauranga and will give the Port of Auckland ‘level footing’ to
compete. In other words a casualised workforce with no guaranteed hours.
This
is how it is described by a Ports of Auckland press release:
The flexible shift and
roster system in the deal is similar to what has been in place successfully at
Port of Tauranga for over 20 years. If we can get a deal like this across all
the port we will be able to compete with Tauranga on level footing.
If the Port of Auckland succeed in
defeating MUNZ, there is no doubt safety will be put at risk. At the Port of
Tauranga, which is held up as a bastion of profitability and efficiency, there
are multiple labour companies supplying workers on short notice. There have
been three deaths in the past few years, while there have been no deaths at the
Ports of Auckland, a MUNZ stronghold.
With
workers are twice as likely to die on the job in NZ compared with Australia, it
is clear a stronger union movement leads to fewer deaths on the job :
The number of
people harmed at work each year in New Zealand would fill Eden Park four times,
a national discussion paper to be released today will reveal.
It is roughly twice as
dangerous to work in New Zealand as in Australia and almost four times as
dangerous as working in Britain, and that is not counting people injured while
driving in connection with work.
Not
only will you earn on average 30% more in Australia but you are much less
likely to die at work– this is what a stronger trade union movement means in
real terms. We should take a lesson from Queensland construction workers who
recently won a nine week long strike.
Needless Tragedies:
Deaths at Port of Tauranga since December 2010
Walter Crosa 49 –
father
15 Aug 2011
“It was believed Mr Crosa was working for a contractor
at the port doing some roading works at the time of the accident. The
Department of Labour is investigating and the matter has been referred to the
coroner, he said. The Allied Workforce employee was working for another
contracted company when the accident happened. It is the third fatality at the
port within the past 15 months.”
Brian Shannon 61
June 2011
“In June this year, two Bay companies were fined a
total of $55,000 after a forklift ran over and killed stevedore Brian Kevin
Shannon, 61, of Otumoetai at the port on June 2010. Mr. Shannon worked for
Independent Stevedoring Limited (ISL) loading and unloading cargo from ships.
ISL and on wharf logistics company C3 Limited, whose employee was driving the
forklift, were both fined over the death after pleading guilty to charges in
court.”
Chinese seaman 35 (not named)
December 17th 2010
“A 35year old Chinese seaman died after falling from
the side of the logging ship Green Hope and into the water in Tauranga Harbour.
Attempts to resuscitate him after he was pulled from the water by workmates
were unsuccessful.”
There was also a death at the port in 2003.There have
been no deaths at the Port of Auckland during this period.
[Source: MUNZ/CTU fact sheet]
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Will MUNZ strike back?
MUNZ
engaged in effective strike action at the end of last year and beginning of
this year that brought the bosses back to the negotiating table. However they
have also pursued a legal strategy that meant they called off action before
signing a collective agreement. This now seems like a mistake. The courts did
postpone redundancies but the management have hit back by harassing and
humiliating union members on site with new security systems etc and the deal
with the scab union is the next step to undermining MUNZ members.
While
the strikes were on MUNZ in Auckland received solidarity from wharfies all over
the world. Most significantly however were the actions taken by union wharfies
in Wellington and Sydney ports who refused to unload ships that were loaded by
scab labour at Auckland. A further reason why the workers movement should
rely on its own power instead of the courts is that they forced MUNZ wharfies
in Wellington to unload
scab ships:
“Bosses at Wellington's Centreport applied for
an injunction from the Employment Court
after a small number of staff on Friday and Saturday refused to work on a ship
that had recently arrived from Auckland.”
As it stands at the moment MUNZ is continuing
with court mediated bargaining and has organised a rally today in Tamaki Drive,
Auckland, to build support for their cause. The MUNZ website explains
that:
Mr Parsloe says MUNZ has worked very hard to
settle an agreement that provides further flexibility to ensure the Port
continues to be successful for the people of Auckland.
“We believe it is possible to do this and have
a fair collective agreement that provides security for our members, unlike the
Port of Tauranga that POAL continues to hold up as the model.”
However, as far as I can see, all out strike
action or the threat of it can achieve a better deal for Aucklands union
wharfies – not simple lobbying and relying on the courts. If MUNZ takes strike action socialists
should strive for the maximum solidarity to help the wharfies sustain their
action until a new contract is signed.
The Port management colluding with the scab union PortPro is a
strategy to divide the workforce and introduce a Tauranga style contract, which
will just lead to speed ups, less job security, and worst of all more injuries
and deaths at the Port.
The MUNZ workers have the power to shut down
the Ports of Auckland and if they use their power by taking all out strike
action along with solidarity from other sites they could be able to force the
Auckland City Council to sack the current anti-worker management team and get a
good contract. A victory
for MUNZ in which a contact with good terms and conditions are kept should not
be passed on to the scab union.
Derwin Smith
