THE MARITIME WORKER Wellington Branch Wellington Branch Newsletter Vol: 7 August (2020)
NEW WGTN BRANCH OFFICE SHED 21: HOME BY THE SEA
Many thanks to all who helped us move premises. The Wellington Branch is now officially located in Unit 1.05, 28 Waterloo Quay Wellington, opposite the Waterloo Hotel and Wellington Railway station. On Friday 4th September we celebrated the opening of the new premises, with a limited number of invites sent out to members to mark this momentous occasion. There were light refreshments and a few beverages to help things along the way. We hope you will make an effort to pop in and say hi. The new branch office belongs to our Wellington members, so make sure you utilise it. We look forward to catching up with you. History of Shed 21 Built in 1911, Shed 21 was considered the ‘grandest wool store in the country’. Shed 21 replaced the original 1882 building, which was destroyed in a 1909 fire that threatened the whole port. First used as the venue of the 1911 Coronation New Zealand Industrial Exhibition, it was then used for wool storage, with the upper floor for the exhibiting of wool. Shed 21 had Wellington Harbour Board’s first electric cranes, built by
Henry Royce, with his company later joining Charles Rolls to become Rolls-Royce. Modern Development While its exterior has remained unchanged, the interior was extensively refurbished as apartments and offices and reopened as Waterloo on Quay Apartments in 2002. Article by JimKing, Wgtn Branch Secretary.
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We continue to hear KR-IILare putting a block on recruiting. In the meantime, our members work under extraordinary pressure. I believe KR-IIL are now hiring more fixed termcontracts (FTEs) to help out, and while this is a pretty good option to address the problemshort term, it does not address the long termproblem; the number of casuals in the workforce. The company needs to employ permanent staff.
Jim King Secretary/Treasurer Wellington Branch
Wellington Secretary/Treasurer’s Report: September 14 2020 KiwiRail Covid 19, Second Wave Auckland went into Alert Level 4 some weeks ago, and at the time of writing they remain at Alert Level 2.5. The rest of New Zealand is required to remain at level 2. KR-IILhave stood down 70 year olds and some immunocompromised people. They have assured us the Special Paid Pandemic leave will apply - no loss of pay. Jimmy Mobbs VS KR-IIL On Wednesday 2nd September, the court’s judgement came through in the formof a 148 point summary. Unfortunately, the courts have found in favour of KiwiRail and basically said Jimmy Mobbs is not entitled to retirement. The courts mentioned in a roundabout way that there’s roomfor improvement with the retirement clause, which would benefit fromnew wording. Our lawyer Peter Cranney and his teamwill look over the judgment and we’ll figure out where to go fromhere. Wage Rounds
Wowo to Live on board Annual Leave conversions We have now had a response fromVanessa Hall, the new HRperson. She states KR-IIL’s position is consistent with the law. “Annual holidays are based on weeks, and an employee’s entitlement should be determined according to their work pattern at the time the holiday is requested. It is essential that you monitor changes in your employees’ work patterns, and adjust annual holidays balances accordingly.” Vanessa goes on to say: “In the interim, I’ve attached the Holidays Act guide. It’s very lengthy but page 27 summarises the answer we both seek and there is further info through the document. We also sought legal advice fromErnst &Young just to be sure we were interpreting it correctly.” KR-IILhave gone off on their own and come to their own conclusion, and I emphatically disagree with their findings. If they cared to read some of the 97 pages of correspondence they emailed me, they would see a raft of things they are meant to adhere to before implementing their procedures regarding our members’ holiday entitlements. This is what Kiwirail are saying: Let’s say you work as a ‘walk on walk off’, and have accumulated 28 days annual leave. If you transfer to a live on-board position, the 28 days (4 weeks annual leave) will now be reduced to 14 days annual leave (2 weeks). I totally disagree with KiwiRail. We are currently working with our lawyers and asked themto provide the below legal explanation on the Holidays Act.
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“Employers may want to err on the side of caution – in many cases there is no single ‘correct’ answer as to what the minimumentitlement or pay is. If there is more than one choice for calculating entitlements, choosing the ones that are more favourable to the employee may significantly reduce risk and, potentially, the compliance costs associated with trying to determine the minimum.”
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“You have a minimumentitlement to four weeks paid annual holidays off work for rest and recreation after 12 months’ continuous employment with your employer (though your employer can agree to give you more). The intent is that, if you took all of your entitlement in one year, you would have had a total of (at least) four calendar weeks off work.”
The MUNZnegotiating teammet on 1st September to go through KR-IIL’s proposal. It’s fair to say some adjustments are needed before the teamtakes the proposal back to members. Aletter will be formulated by Joe Fleetwood outlining the team’s issues. Aratere KR-IILhave struck their own deal with certain walk on walk off caterers to work in a live on-board capacity, without a variation to the collective contract done in conjunction with MUNZ. We do not know what the terms and conditions are. We are extremely disappointed to see the company take advantage of some MUNZmembers, who are not prepared to stand up for their working rights. I have written to KR-IILand told themtheir actions are totally unjustified and unwarranted. They are now willing to consider negotiating a variation to our collective agreement, but only because we brought this to their attention. It’s a bit late now, I think. Core Crewing Core crewing of the catering department is being replaced by casuals. I believe there are 65 casuals now filling the positions of permanent staff who have left. The numbers are staggering. It looks like the company is doing everything in their power to casualise the workforce. This issue is very high on our radar, and we are constantly pressuring KR-IILto employ crew on a permanent basis. Casualisation is unacceptable to the Maritime Union.
Kingston The Skandi Emerald was laid up in PrimePort Timaru for the past couple of months, but has now been contracted to tow the MVFuning back to Asia. The MVFunig is the vessel that had wire rope wrapped around its propeller leaving Tauranga a month or two ago. Joe Fleetwood and myself are extremely disappointed about the way Kingston Offshore (the manning agent) have gone about this whole saga. We have been dealing with themfor a number of years as they are a party to the Offshore Oil &Gas Multi-Party Collective Agreement. We have always supplied labour to man their vessels, when Kingston are required to supply labour for the various owners they are contracted to. Unfortunately we found
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out fromKingston that they have arranged their own non-union labour to do the towing job, and we also believe they have appointed a Second Mate to fill the position of an Integrated Rating. At this stage we don’t know if there is a cook employed. What makes this even more unacceptable and toxic is the fact they have selected people who were previously members of the Maritime Union, who we had helped to get employment in the offshore industry and in particular with Kingston. At least we now know the true colours of these scabs. MUNZNational Secretary Joe Fleetwood has emailed Norwegian company DOF, the International Transport Workers’ Federation and other parties associated with the Skandi Emerald to see what assistance we can get from them. We have also emailed the Merchant Service Guild (MSG) and asked themto see if the Second Mate is a member of their organisation. If that is the case, we have asked the Guild to contact this person and direct himto stop taking work that comes under MUNZcoverage. Once again Kingston have tried to pull a swift one on this union. I can’t begin to explain why this manning agent deals with us in good faith on a pretty much day to day basis when the offshore is all up and running well, only to now engage in such underhanded behaviour. It adds salt to the wound that Kingston have done so with our EX MEMBERS!
said the stevedore was crushed by a container. “We’ve just had a gutsful,” said Mayn. “And now we’ve got another death on our hands.” Mayn said he went to the wharf at 4amon Sunday but police would not allow himon the scene. He is highly critical of the 12-hour-shifts and 60-hour-weeks expected of stevedores employed by the Ports, and called for an independent review in the wake of the latest death. “Too many hours. Graveyard shifts may be alright in some situations, but this is not a factory. This is outside, in all weathers, in a dangerous place. It’s hard work. Lashing on board the ship is a physically demanding, heavy job, and it’s dangerous.” Mayn, who started working on the wharves in 1973, said eight-hour shifts were the normin his day. The worker was killed after he was crushed by a container on a ship at the Fergusson Container Terminal. Mayn said union members on the wharf in Auckland had left the worksite on Sunday following the death. “They said they’re not coming in because of the accident. They want to show a bit of respect for the person that’s died.” Wellington Branch Stop Work Meetings Next Stop Work Meeting set down for 12th October at 10 AMto be held at Willis St, 13 Floor of the NZEI building.
Swire’s
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Reimbursements of members training costs etc: There is a problemI’ve inherited since being in office. Swire’s unreasonably refuse to pay our members’ course costs when they are required to update their STCW certificates. I have written to the GMof Swire’s Pacific Offshore (SPO) and asked themto supply this union with all documentation that pertains to this union supposedly accepting no more reimbursement of training course costs for Swire’s employees. This issue has now been passed on to our lawyers, who in turn have written to Swire’s and quoted section 25 (Training) of the MPCA. Once again, like some other shipping companies, they have their own personal understanding of our collective agreement.
The next issue of Wellington Maritime Worker Newsletter is due out about the end of September 2020. Please send in your stories and pictures. Database IRs &ABs 19, Cooks 14, Stewards 16. Wage rounds currently in progress KiwiRail Interislander (Negotiation Mode, seeking to continue on with talks) NIWA(Negotiation Mode)
NIWA Wage round talks were held Friday 14th August. All claims were presented to NIWAfromall interested parties. Arguments were put up fromboth sides of the fence, and there were a total of nine claims for NIWA’s consideration. We are now waiting for NIWAto get back to the negotiating teamwith their counter offer. The MUNZwage round teamis made up of Joe Fleetwood, Greg Walker, Peter Morrison and me. Also in attendance will be the MSGand the Aviation &Marine Engineers Association. Copies of the MUNZclaims have now been sent off to Sarah Dench at MSGso they can collate themfor NIWA. StraitNZ Blue Bridge Welcome to all new members fromStraitNZ(BlueBridge). It’s fantastic to see you’ve now signed up to this union, and we will always be there to help you and guide you through any issues you encounter while in your employment. Functions: End of Year Preparations are now underway for the end of the year functions. Once again, the Christmas function will be held at the Bristol Hotel. This year’s Old Timer’s function will be held at the Waterloo BackPackers, upstairs again. Details will be available closer to the dates. Russell Mayn Auckland Branch Secretary, Edited Comments to Stuff The death of a wharfie at the Ports of Auckland who was crushed underneath a container aboard a ship has sparked a call for an independent inquiry. The lasher died about 2amSunday on a ship at the Fergusson Container Terminal Maritime Union Auckland Local 13 secretary Russell Mayn The Wellington Maritime Worker Published Regularly
Tony Mowbray #1154 Vice President Wellington Branch
Members are the union Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the recent resignation of long-time member Peter Stills fromthe industry and fromthe Wellington branch Vice Presidency. I wish Peter all the best. Through all his years Peter was an active and militant contributor with a passion for the industry that won’t be forgotten. All of us who know himwill agree, I’msure, that he was never backward in coming forward. Some of the membership needs to become more active, including at a ship board level, rather than continuously leaving it up to a few (usually the same few) to act on issues. All members must remain vigilant, especially where the C.E.Ais concerned but also with condition safeguarding in general. The first course of action should always be for those on board to deal with issues ourselves, through our own efforts. On occasion I have heard some ask “what does the union do for me?” As if paying union dues is all they need to do. Ask yourself, “what do I do?” The union does plenty for its membership that often goes unnoticed, but most notably it gives protection and negotiates on our behalf in all matters. I doubt anyone on their own would benefit in times of need. With 300 odd seagoing staff in KiwiRail alone, I can’t understand why we don’t get larger numbers at our stop work meetings (Pat Harcus addressed this same issue in an earlier edition of our journal). Members should attend union meetings when the ships are laid up or, if numbers allow, you should exercise your right in our collective agreement for the delegate or a volunteer to get time off for the meeting (if it doesn’t affect the running of the vessel). If the membership has any issues or queries, this is the forumin which to raise them. Concerns and information can be shared with the whole fleet and everyone can end up on the same page, with insight into other company’s issues as well. Stop work meetings are a perfect opportunity for younger members to involve themselves in their future with our union. We never have poor turnouts at social events, which is good, so it would be beneficial to all to increase our numbers at the monthly meetings. We fought hard in years gone by to keep them. The same applies to our branch elections, where we appear to get very limited nominations. We should never forget we have the democratic privilege of electing our officials, as opposed to thembeing appointed. I understand not all feel comfortable taking on these roles, but considering our branch numbers it would be encouraging to see all the executive positions having to go to a vote. With good branch leadership, we will continue tidying up long outstanding issues. I feel like some members aren’t aware how much continuous work is put in by the Executive for all the membership. Things don’t stop on “changeover” day. This has never been an issue to anyone (past or present) who put themselves up for these positions, so it is important to support your elected officials or put your name forward at the next election. It can’t be stressed enough that we have always been and always will be a struggle-based union in an industry that has never been a friend to the seafarer. The worker was given nothing, everything gained was through
tough negotiation or sheer determination by the rank and file. With older members slowly finishing, it will be up to those still working to safeguard conditions no matter how minor they seem. You would be mistaken to believe things just change for the better; this is the importance of everyone being active, rather than leaving everything up to officials and delegates alone. Remember, the membership is the union. We wouldn’t maintain our C.E.Aor conditions if nothing had been done in the past. I suggest the newer or younger members look up some NZindustrial history for insight and understanding. Better still, talk to the older members before they’re gone. Remember! Any triumph for the worker has only come fromthe calibre of the members and the leadership. Out of respect to those before us, we owe it to themto keep the struggle going.
Grahame Mclaren ITF Inspectorate New Zealand
ITFInspectorate Report September 2020 Daiwan Fortune Received a request fromAustralian Assistant ITF Coordinator Matt Purcell to follow up regarding: “1. Deck cadet to be paid three months difference between his wage and that of mess man as has been performing both tasks, agreed. 2. The owners must provide bank receipted electronic evidence for each crew member for the past six months for home allotments. Agreed to by the owners but stalling for time.” Contacted ITF volunteer Phil Adams at the vessel’s first NZport of Port Chalmers, who kindly agreed to visit the vessel. Phil reported that in regard to point 1 the master was adamant the cadet had not performed any messman’s duties, and in regard to point 2 handed Phil a copy of a Bank of China letter headed document (all in Chinese) as the requested evidence. I forwarded Phil an email fromMatt Purcell where the company had agreed to pay the cadet at the messman’s rate. Phil took this email back to the vessel where the master capitulated and agreed to pay the cadet. Another visit was arranged at the port of Tauranga, where ITF volunteer Selwyn Russell spoke to the cadet to ensure he had been paid and collected evidence of the payment.
Fiona Mansell Wellington Women’s Rep
The All or Nothing Weber Report On Friday July 31st KR-IIL held a Covid-19 Superstars prizegiving. Nineteen recipients nominated by the ‘Leadership Team’ received a certificate, a Weber BBQ, morning tea and I can only imagine a big pat on the back for their exceptional work throughout lockdown.
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Well, the response to this fromthe rank and file is WHAT ABOUT EVERYONE ELSEWHOWORKEDHARD? ONEWINNINGTEAMRIGHT? EITHER EVERYONE WHOWORKEDGETS SOMETHING, OR EVERYONEGETS NOTHING! This prize giving did not go down well with those who received nothing. These sentiments have come fromthe rank and file on-board the vessels and fair enough too! Everyone who worked tirelessly throughout this period flipped their lives around, put themselves and their families at risk, and worked extra long days by doing 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. It stings to then see the company formally recognise 19 superstars, chosen over a variety of departments. The best way to cause division within the rank and file is to single out individuals and give themprizes for the same work everyone else did too. After reading the email fromsenior management that afternoon and receiving a number of complaints fromdifferent people, I decided that as a fellow crew member and comrade I had to respond and let management know how crew were feeling. What I hadn’t anticipated is the chain reaction it would cause, as other members of MUNZwrote in to provide their feedback. Below is a slightly edited copy of the email I sent.
the phone regarding the issues raised. It was a positive chat where we discussed: Where the BBQs came from(left over froma Frucor promotion). There is a plan to reward everyone, but they have been told to slow down fromhigher up. The 0%pay increase everyone has heard about (still going through wage rounds). Most importantly and urgently, the issues we are having with Core Crewing. See Core Crewing Report, still not the greatest. Their final words at the end of the conversation were “watch this space”. My response: “We are always watching!”
Kia ora. Thank you for all the updates you have sent out the last several months, much appreciated, however I would like to now be removed from your mailing list please. On another note; I have received negative feedback today fromthe rank and file onboard the vessels about the KR-IIL Covid 19 Superstar morning tea and Weber BBQgift. This is a slap in the face for many of these crew members, as you are fully aware a lot of these people rearranged their lives to work with this company to be a part of ONEWINNINGTEAMat very short notice. Furthermore, after reading your emails and list of superstars it has been observed by everyone on the vessels that most of those superstars are white shirts or in the leadership team. Maybe two fromthe rank and file, and no casuals were on this list. The casuals definitely deserve better recognition, without themduring lockdown the OBS department would not have coped at all as many of us had to stay home for a variety of reasons. At the very least, casuals should be offered permanent work. The way the crew sees it is this: 1. They all worked extremely hard throughout Covid-19, rearranged their families and lives to help the company and the country, and got nothing. 2. Then there is the 0%pay rise they have all heard about, need I say more on this? I have no idea what the selection process was to choose these superstars, but fromour point of view it was not just or fair - something we thought KiwiRail prided themselves on. This is a very bitter pill to swallow given that ALL crew who worked tirelessly throughout Covid are tired, overworked, stressed, sick and quite frankly have had enough. This is especially true for the on-board services department, who are extremely low on permanent core crew. When they read your email they felt extremely deflated and underappreciated. It would be greatly encouraging to see these core positions filled on a permanent basis; that would be the best reward. As you know, Core Crewing and the many vacancies across the fleet have been huge talking points down on the vessels. Moving forward it would be good if KR-IIl could back up their ONE WINNINGTEAMvalues and do something for everyone who worked through this tough time... fromthe top, through to the rank and file. Thank you for your time, have a great weekend and look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. The very next day management emailed back, and we talked at length on
Craig Harrison Assistant Secretary Auckland Branch - Local 13
Organising success at Fullers &360 It has been a tumultuous couple of months for our members in the ferry industry in Auckland. Like all workers around the country, they have experienced lockdown, a drop in their working hours and all the uncertainty that comes with this. At the start of the year, our union made contact through our delegate in Fullers with some workers in 360 Discovery. Both companies are owned and operated by the same parent company. Early this year the union initiated bargaining with 360 Discovery for a collective agreement covering these workers. Then the country went into lockdown, and everything was put on hold. Most workers in the company are young and have no previous connection with or awareness of the union movement, so the whole process was new to them. Through delegate effort, our union density grew over the last twelve months at Fullers. On this basis we negotiated a good collective there, with good rates of pay and increases over time. This solid foundation was built by investing time and energy into supporting Amanda, one of the leading delegates at Fullers, and giving themthe opportunity to attend events such as the Maritime Union of Australia Conference. We have also encouraged the young union member to stand and get onto the Auckland Branch Executive. All this was reinforced with union-based training within Auckland Branch, and also using available CTUtraining. Lockdown changed everything. Auckland’s ferry industry has lots of work dedicated to the tourist industry. Afair proportion of their work relates to the cruise ship industry, and as we know that has collapsed overnight. Fortunately for our members at Fullers and 360 Discovery, they also have work dedicated to public transport. With the help of central and local government, these services were guaranteed through lockdown and will keep going. We are mindful that in coming months the support from Auckland Council could change, as the city faces a significant drop in their revenue. We don’t yet know what future passenger numbers will look like. In meetings with representatives for both companies post lockdown, our union and the delegates made it clear to the employers we want to retain jobs, and that we intend to continue to prosecute our claims to have our
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members at 360 Discovery covered by a collective agreement. Afew weeks later the company informed the union they were looking at shutting down 360 Discovery and offering employment for our members at 360 Discovery elsewhere within Fullers Group. Leading up to this announcement, our membership within 360 Discovery had been slowly growing and within days of the process being confirmed we were at a hundred percent union density. The credit for this goes to our members, who talked with their fellow workers and organised the site. For a lot of our members at 360 Discovery this was a very unsettling time, as they were uncertain what this restructure would mean for themand what their ongoing employment situation would look like. The company called meetings with the workers to announce the consultation process with our members. I attended, along with our new delegates at 360 Discovery and Amanda Manson our delegate at Fullers. What made this process less traumatic for our members was the hard work done in previous months securing a CAat Fullers. This agreement led to significant increases for lower paid workers within the company. In bargaining at Fullers this time around, our membership made the decision to move low paid workers rates up in an effort to get all the Living Wage. The union was able to create tiered skill levels with significant increases over the termof the Collective Agreement. Support fromthe highest paid members was crucial to achieve this; they would not receive significant pay increases as a result. The bargaining of the Fullers Collective Agreement had taken some time, but at the outset of these talks the membership were very clear on what they wanted to achieve. To their credit, the company was open to finding a balance between their aims and ours. By the time you read this article the amalgamation of crews from360 Discovery into the Fullers Collective Agreement should be completed. For our union and our members this is a significant event. What’s important is that all these young workers can now experience what collectivismis.
country went into lockdown.Crew change took place in New Plymouth and then proceeded to Nelson to lay up with minimumcrew of Mate, Engineer and 2 IRs who were only on board for an undisclosed time. During lockdown little bits and pieces of maintenance got done. I myself did the galley cooking for the four of us, as the company didn’t come to the party and provide a cook for the locdown crew. It reminded me of the 1970s, when there was an AB cook on the crew of tenders. The vessel was laid up in Nelson for three months, and then mobilised again for New Plymouth to commence with transporting the Archer Rig out to Maui. The Archer Rig was shipped out to New Plymouth by ship and delivered to OMVs yard in NP. It is the trans shipped out to Maui and put together like a Mecano set bit by bit. With substantial progress made on the tower to starboard of the crane, it’s all not far off being completed. Some of the pieces are worth in excess of 1.5 million Euros, so the weather came into the equation when discharging out there. Once it’s all completed then the drilling starts, and after that’s completed they hopefully find more gas, the whole process reverses and the Archer rig returns to Aberdeen.
Mick Williams President Wellington Branch
15 qualities of bad management 1. Contracts work out which employees can do themselves
Going forward I can see the delegates having ongoing discussions with the company over issues around rostering. Their position will be enhanced as they have a good delegate structure and are all working together to win real results for our members. The company has also adopted a pragmatic view to the current situation, and worked hard to keep as many employees as possible.
2. Doesn’t show appreciation or give recognition to employees
There is an old saying that “the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary”. In reflecting over the last couple of months for our members at 360 Discovery and Fullers I think that the delegates and their enthusiasmand compassion for their fellow worker has created the environment that got our union to where we sit now. This is not a new recipe for organising; it’s succeeded for many years, it just takes work.
6. Doesn’t provide clear or realistic direction
3. Micromanagement 4. Unable to trust (control freak) 5. Plays favouritism 7. Is unavailable or avoids tough conversations 8. Hides behind Covid -19, not the contract 9. Unable to listen and respond to feedback (poor listener) 10 .Doesn’t lead by example. Employees take pay cut but not management 11. Lacks humility or self-awareness 12. Manages with fear, not fairness 13. Does not respect the contract with their employees 14. Doesn’t follow through or recognize their own responsibilities
Pat Harcus #6591 Normand Tortuga Delegate
15. Doesn’t live up to own professed workplace values. Cuba & Auckland: Solidarity from Wellington
Life locked down at sea
The Normand Tortuga mobilised in March for the start of drilling program on Maui Aplatformto look for more gas fromthe fields. The first crew started taking equipment out to Maui, then Covid came along and the
The MUNZAugust 10th Stop work meeting moved a motion after hearing fromthe Cuban Ambassador Edgardo Valdés López. MUNZWellington Branch salutes the heroic and selfless contributions of the people of Cuba in the fight against COVID19, through the invaluable
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support they provided to many countries in the world by availing their medical brigades and medical innovation. Further supports the call on the international community to reject the escalation of US economic war against Cuba. MUNZWellington Branch would also like to express our deepest condolences to the worker and his family and friends, at this very sad ending to a wharfie’s life. Yet another member who went to work and never returned home to his family. We need urgent law change. In the words of the Maritime Union of Australia’s great leader Christy Cain; “kill a worker, go to jail.”
Joe Fleetwood National Secretary Maritime Union
National Secretary Report Sept 2020 Strong Shores campaign is up and running
John Whiting Assistant Secretary Wellington Branch
Permanent Guaranteed Hours Attacked The company’s suggested restructuring plan appeared in late May. They cited the impact of COVID-19 as having a major impact on their financial position. They forecast a reduction in cargo volumes and revenue in the 2020/2021 period. As we know fromprevious experience, receiving these messages fromthe employer is always followed by plans that undermine workers’ incomes and job security. The company proposed disestablishing 30 x P40 hour Cargo Handler roles and creating 30 x P24 hour Cargo Handler roles. Also proposed was the reduction of six workers fromthe Engineering and Maintenance team, and the removal of a Surveyor and a Repairer fromthe Empty Container Depot. Ameeting of the three combined unions (MUNZ, RMTU, and Etū) was held and members initially rejected the proposals. Members instructed their union representatives to meet with the company and seek to negotiate the best possible outcome. Many meetings have subsequently been held, both with the company and with our members. One meeting of the membership called for the attendance of management, and this enabled a full and frank expression of worker viewpoints to the employer representatives. The drawing out of the negotiating process over three months has been frustrating for many involved. Nevertheless, staying united and speaking collectively has led to a final result significantly less painful than the original company proposal. The three unions and CentrePort signed off on an agreement on August 28. Six Cargo Handlers will take voluntary redundancy, and 24 x P40 hour Cargo Handler roles will be reassigned as P32 hour Cargo Handler roles. The new P32 roles have several protections around them, such as order of allocation, skilled rates of pay, priority for return to P40 roles, and continued inclusion in the fixed/flexi rostering system. It was also agreed that six long serving members fromthe Engineering teamwould retire under voluntary redundancy provisions, as would one Repairer fromthe Empty Depot. This has been a hard experience for the CentrePort workforce, particularly newer recruits. As always, however, by going the distance and staying united when facing an attack we have reduced the impact on members. Many thanks to Mick Williams for his leadership and input during the course of this dispute at CentrePort.
An online petition has been created byMUNZand the Council of Trade Unions as part of a new campaign to rebuild coastal shipping. It calls for the Coalition Government to remove one short clause s198 (1) (c) fromthe Maritime Transport Act. This would reserve the carriage of domestic cargo between New Zealand ports for New Zealand flagged and manned coastal shipping, and allow for the rebuilding of our coastal shipping fleet. With the right amount of positive and constructive pressure, Labour can deliver the much needed shipping policy for our country, which will provide jobs for New Zealand Seafarers. Please help, sign and share this link with family and friends. https://www.together.org.nz/strong_shores. Death of Worker Awaterfront worker died on the job recently at Ports of Auckland in yet another senseless workplace tragedy. Pala’amo (Amo) Kalati, died about 2amon Sunday 30 August while working as a lasher on a ship at the Fergusson Container Terminal. He was crushed by a container.The Maritime Union offers its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and workmates of Mr Kalati. It is a great blow to our Union to lose another maritime worker in this way. The Maritime Union is opposed to long night shifts of 12 hour work periods, if 12 hour shifts are what we have to work there must be a mandatory break for the worker after x amount of shifts worked eg 3x12hour shifts worked a mandatory 24 hour break clear of the job, MNZis the industry regulator, MUNZcalls out MNZto do your job, regulate our industry and help break the culture of production before safety which is present in New Zealand ports. Comrades we must be constantly vigilant and prioritise health and safety on the job. Many workplace health and safety issues would be resolved if we could have the barre lowered to achieve corporate manslaughter charges which saw the prosecution and imprisonment of those rouge managers proven responsible for deaths on the job. At the moment the incentive is for management to push things as far as they can to maximise profit in many industries. There needs to be an incentive for themto take health and safety more seriously: Amended Corporate Manslaughter Laws will provide this. “KILL AWORKER” “GOTOJAIL” Sinking of livestock carrier The sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1 is another example of how ongoing concerns and issues with a vessel have not been fixed and have led to disaster. The livestock carrier went down off the coast of Japan on 2 September after reporting engine failure in a typhoon. The ship left port in Napier on 14 August with 5867 cattle and was heading to the Port of Jingtang in Tangshan, China. Forty-three people were aboard, including vets and animal handlers. One crew member was rescued and a second person was rescued fromthe
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water but later died. The identities of the two New Zealanders aboard are unknown, but it is understood they were stockmen who were based in Australia and worked on export ships. It has been reported the Gulf Livestock 1 had a history of engine problems. During a voyage in July 2019, the livestock vessel drifted for 25 hours while undergoing repairs following an engine failure. Ship operator AGEwas reprimanded by the Australian Department of Agriculture in July 2020. This was following alleged ear tag tampering on cows that were infected with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). In May 2019, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority identified stability and navigation issues in the Gulf Livestock 1, delaying its departure on a journey fromBroome to Indonesia. Maritime New Zealand have claimed the vessel was seaworthy. It’s history says that may have been an optimistic attitude. The Maritime Union holds its four yearly National Conference from10, 11, 12 November in Wellington. Due to the current situation with the COVID19 pandemic and the closure of borders, it is unlikely any international guests
Wellington Branch Contacts Jimmy King - Branch Secretary/Treasurer DDI: 04 38 59288 Mobile: 020 483 6262 Email: jim.king@munz.org.nz John Whiting -Branch Assistant Secretary Mobile: 021 606 379 Email: john.whiting@munz.org.nz
Tony Mowbray - Vice President Mobile: 027 6376 561 Fiona Mansell - Women’s Rep Executive Mobile: 022 302 3010 Email: feemansell@gmail.com Jacob Blaikie - Youth Rep Executive Mobile: 022 658 3825
National Office Officials Contacts Joe Fleetwood National Secretary Mobile: 021 364 649 Direct dial: 04 801 7614 Email: joe.fleetwood@munz.org.nz Carl Findlay National President Mobile: 021 760 887 Email: carl.findlay@munz.org.nz
I will be notifying all branches, 1 – They will need to purge there branch members role and send an updated copy to National Office, that will determine the amount of voting delegates each branch will have attend at the cost of National Office, 2 – Names of Conference delegates eg for voting etc,
Conference 2020
Mick Williams - Branch President Mobile: 022 309 8959 Email: mick.williams@munz.org.nz
will be able to attend. Our conference will have video links with good friends of our Union fromoverseas. We will work around whatever measures are in place to ensure that our delegates and observers fromall divisions across our Union all have a say in the direction of MUNZfor the next four years. To all members can make sure you have updated your full contact details eg email, mobile number and mailing address with your branch, or direct with National Office by emailing ramesh@munz.org.nz or kat@munz.org.nz with your details, or contact me direct. This will ensure you receive union communications and your voting forms for the election of national officers.
3 – Call for remits to conference, 4 – Open and call for nominations for national officers,
Email: blaikiejacob@gmail.com George McIntosh - Executive Member Mobile: 027 392 7507 Email: georgeandjill@xtra.co.nz
Lynette Payne - Executive Member Mobile: 027 355 9080 Email: awaywiththeferries@hotmail.com Paul Baggott - Executive Member Mobile: 027 688 8002 Email: paulsown@hotmail.com
Ports (Wellington) Bradley Cliff ord - Executive Member Mobile: 021 176 5928 Email: bradleyclifford@msn.com Jason Penny - Executive Member Mobile: 021 537 287 Email: jaypndawhare@gmail.com
Selwyn Russell National Vice President Mobile: 027 478 2308 Email selwyn.russell@munz.orgn.z Ray Fife Assistant National Secretary Mobile: 027 447 5317 Email: ray.fife@munz.org.nz
This publication is authorised by the Maritime Union of
The Wellington Maritime Worker Published RegularlyNational Secretary Joe Fleetwood. 220 New Zealand’s
Willis Street, Wellington.