The Maritimes Autumn 2011

The Issue 33 • Autumn 2011

Maritimes Magazine of the Maritime Union of New Zealand

ISSN 1176-3418

60th anniversary of the ‘Big Blue’ 1951–2011

www.munz.org.nz

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 1

EARTHQUAKE

Lyttelton update Maritime Union General Secretary Joe Fleetwood and Assistant General Secretary Ray Fife visited Lyttelton on Monday 7 March and spoke to members at the port.

The port is substantially damaged and areas of the port are being repaired, but operations are returning to normal.

Port company employees are safe and accounted for, but many have suffered damage to property.

Lyttelton township was badly hit with damaged and destroyed buildings.

The Branch Office at 19 Oxford Street has suffered some exterior damage but is still standing.

However surrounding buildings have been condemned and demolished.

The MUNZ office will be cleaned up but it will remain closed and no meetings will be held until it is checked for safety.

Water and power is running at the port and most of Lyttelton but many areas are still without these services in Christchurch.

All talks are on hold until the emergency is over.

Local 43 extend their thanks to all the branches and individuals who have contacted them to find out how things are going.

Branch organizer Les Wells can be contacted on his mobile phone 0274329620 in the interim.

More information for workers at the CTU website http://union.org.nz/earthquake

Maritime workers relief fund Lyttelton, February 2011 (photograph courtesy of Duke Mule Photography)

Christchurch and Lyttelton earthquake, 22 February 2011 The Maritime Union of New Zealand extends its condolences and solidarity to all those affected by the earthquake.

We thank members of the Lyttelton Branch Local 43 who have been active in assisting in their community, and the international union movement for their support.

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The Maritime Union of New Zealand has started a relief fund to assist maritime workers and their families affected by the devastating earthquake.

The Port of Lyttelton is closed and the township of Lyttelton has been badly damaged.

A number of donations have already come in from overseas unions and others.

Donations can be made to this account: Account Name: Maritime Union of New Zealand Workers Relief Fund Account No: 02-0560-0450165-003 Branch: Manners Street, Wellington, New Zealand Bank: BNZ International SWIST CODE: BKNZNZ22 Add your name/organization as the reference.

Please email joe.fleetwood@munz.org.nz if you require acknowledgement of your donation.

Thank you for your support.

www.munz.org.nz

EDITORIAL

Hard times Edition 33, Autumn 2011

by Victor Billot

Contents

Christchurch earthquake

Christchurch earthquake 2 Editorial 3 General Secretary’s Report 4 News 6 Interport 2011 10 1951 – the Big Blue 12 Port roundups 18 Notices 30 Branch contacts 31

During the production of this magazine, New Zealand experienced what will probably be the most severe natural disaster in its history, certainly in the life time of most readers.

The cataclysmic Christchurch earthquake has shocked all of us, wrecked the city many of our members call home, and led to great loss of life and injury.

The Maritime Union has offered its support to our members and their families, as well as the wider Christchurch community. The Union has established a relief fund which has attracted support from maritime unionists and friends from around the world.

These contributions will be distributed to assist both the immediate clean up effort and also to provide ongoing support for members in hardship.

As a community we face hard times.

But it is no coincidence that the values of unionism – solidarity, activism, and unity – are exactly the same attitudes that are so important when people are confronted with devastating events like this.

1951 lockout

page 12

Interport 2011

page 10

‘The Maritimes’ is published quarterly by the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

ISSN 1176-3418 National Office: PO Box 27004 Wellington New Zealand Telephone: 04 3850 792 Fax: 04 3848 766 Email: joe.fleetwood@munz.org.nz Web: www.munz.org.nz Editor: Victor Billot Mobile: 021 482219 Fax: 09 9251125 Email: victor.billot@munz.org.nz Mail: PO Box 339, Dunedin New Zealand Editorial Board: Joe Fleetwood, Garry Parsloe and Ray Fife Deadline for all Port reports, submissions, photos and letters: 1 May 2011 for next edition Cover photo: Confrontation between workers and police, Cuba Street, Wellington, 1951 (photograph from Richard Scott collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand) For more on-line photos, see www.flickr.com/maritimeunion Thanks to all our photographers including Mike Will, Alf Boyle, Stu Crawford, Terry Ryan, Zoe Reynolds (MUA), Harry Holland, Bill Connelly, Duke Mule and others

1951 – “the Big Blue”

Contact the Maritime Union National Office Telephone: 04 3850 792 Fax: 04 3848 766 Address: PO Box 27004, Wellington Office administrator: Ramesh Pathmanathan Email: ramesh@munz.org.nz General Secretary: Joe Fleetwood Direct dial: 04 8017614 Mobile: 021 364649 Email: joe.fleetwood@munz.org.nz National Vice President: Garry Parsloe Direct dial: 09 3034652 Mobile: 021 326261 Email: garry.parsloe@munz.org.nz Assistant General Secretary: Ray Fife Direct dial: 03 2128189 Mobile: 0274 475317 Email: ray.fife@munz.org.nz ITF Inspector: Grahame MacLaren Direct dial: 04 8017613 Mobile: 021 2921782 Email: maclaren_graham@itf.org.uk Communications Officer: Victor Billot Mobile: 021 482219 Fax: 09 9251125 Address: PO Box 339, Dunedin Email: victor.billot@munz.org.nz

www.munz.org.nz

This issue of the Maritimes commemorates an important moment in history, the 1951 waterfront lockout.

The waterfront lockout of 1951, or “Big Blue” as it became known, is generally regarded as New Zealand’s greatest industrial conflict.

A coalition of employers and the National Government of the time were determined to smash militant unionism that challenged the status quo by demanding a better life for workers.

The monopolistic actions and profiteering of the British shipping lines were allowed to roll on, and instead a New Zealand Government turned on its own citizens.

The modern view is that the then Government’s tearing up the safeguards of free speech was a travesty. In a shameful nadir of immorality, it was made illegal to feed the families and children of locked out workers. This was New Zealand, 1951.

The story of the lockout can be read about in this magazine.

There were lessons learned. The cost of the dispute to many of those involved was high.

But the greatest failing of unionism will never be militancy, political awareness or socialist principle – as long as these are tempered by the ability to learn and adapt to changing circumstances.

Instead, workers have to be concerned about apathy, complacency, and our ability to independently organize to advance and protect our interests in an economic system that regards us as profit units.

A world in turmoil Around the world in the last few months we have seen astounding events.

Revolution is sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East. In the United States, workers in the small and quiet state of Wisconsin have occupied the state assembly to defend their rights as workers. In Ireland, the Government that led that country into a free market catastrophe has been kicked out of office.

Things can change very quickly. Perhaps a message there to our local rulers.

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 3

GENERAL SECRETARY’S REPORT

Workers facing many challenges

By Joe Fleetwood

Christchurch Earthquake The terrible earthquake in Christchurch happened just a few days ago as I write this.

There has been massive damage and major loss of life.

The Port of Lyttelton has reopened for limited operations, but damage to the township and the port is serious.

The Maritime Union has started a relief fund for our members and their families affected by the disaster.

Information on how to contribute is in this magazine or you can look up our website on www.munz.org.nz Contributions and messages of support have already come in from overseas unions and workers.

We sincerely thank all those who have given their support.

As this comes to hand we will post this on our website.

1951 anniversary 2011 is the 60th anniversary of the 1951 waterfront lockout.

This event was the major industrial dispute of the 20th century in New Zealand. For 151 days watersiders and their allies including seafarers, miners, freezing workers and drivers, and many others, resisted attacks from global shipping companies working in alliance with big business interests and the National Government.

It is now widely accepted by historians that the attacks of the National Government upon workers of the time were motivated by political goals, and the actions of the Government and the authorities at the time are now seen as both excessive and sinister.

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Some of the outrages included the suppression of free speech, laws that made it illegal to give food to the children of locked out workers, and the vicious baton attacks on peaceful marches in several well-documented incidents.

It is very important that a new generation of workers is educated about this event and its central role in the history of our union.

Many of the key people involved in the dispute are no longer with us, but we still have several veteran members who can recall the hard times.

The interesting thing about the dispute is how, despite the defeat and hardship suffered by the watersiders, many positive things resulted in the long term.

Many workers involved in the dispute were blacklisted and forced out of the waterfront, but then resurfaced in other industries where their experience and toughness ensured they played a key role in future union leadership.

Others who managed to get employment back on to the waterfront quickly reorganized, so that the scab unions that had been set up following the dispute were absorbed, taken over or vanquished.

The support of other New Zealand workers at the time, and international unions including the Australian maritime unions and miners, and the ILWU, remind us of the power of international solidarity.

The Maritime Union is organizing a commemoration of the 1951 waterfront lockout in Wellington in May 2011.

May 2011 national executive meeting The national executive will be meeting in Wellington for our twice-yearly meeting on 18–19 May 2011.

This meeting will coincide with the 1951 commemorations and we will be focussing on the progress of our Union Strategy.

Offshore Industry One of the positive growth areas for our Union is in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Past and previous Governments have all contributed to the demise of New Zealand coastal shipping over many years, affecting the employment of our seafarer members.

We still maintain full coverage on the remaining vessels and of course the ferries.

The offshore oil and gas industry has provided good work for many members.

In New Zealand waters our member’s crew supply vessels, chase boats, seismic ships, anchor handlers, multi purpose and drill ships in the Taranaki and Great South

basins, where we are currently exploring and mapping potential oil and gas fields around the New Zealand coast.

In addition we have a substantial number of members working in the Australian offshore.

The big problem members need to realise is the offshore is a casual industry and has the potential to burst over night, as it has done so in the past leaving many of our members unemployed.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand is working closely with the EPMU in New Zealand as part of the Offshore Oil and Gas Alliance, and in the Australian industry MUNZ and EPMU are working closely with our brothers and sisters from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and Australian Workers Union (AWU) in the Trans Tasman Hydro Carbon Oil and Gas Alliance.

I attended the AWU Conference in February in Australia where we discussed further actions that will be taken to secure employment for our Unions.

The offshore industry is continuing to be a major area of employment for our members.

2011 Election Year Question: “National Party Out.” Is this what we want?

2011 is an important year for workers with a general election to be held by the end of the year.

The Maritime Union has a proud tradition of militant, independent political activity to advance the interests of maritime workers and the wider working class. This works in with our industrial strategy.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand will be working towards a Labour-led Government in coalition with other proworker parties including the Greens and any other left wing parties.

There are a number of areas where the Maritime Union is campaigning for political change.

We will also be putting the hard questions to the parties we do support.

The Maritime Union wants to see action in a number of areas.

The National Government attacks on workplace laws must be reversed.

The obsession with free trade agreements by the two major parties must be challenged as free trade deals threaten jobs, conditions, and our control of our economy and even the decisions of future Governments.

Coastal shipping needs to be addressed and we will be working to ensure Labour follows through on its commitments this time around. www.munz.org.nz

GENERAL SECRETARY’S REPORT The National Government’s “leave it to the market/big business” approach with transport and ports planning and infrastructure must be exposed as the failure it is.

Better health and safety on the job, removing GST off food, protecting public services and public assets from privatization, and boosting the minimum wage, are some other key goals.

This will be discussed with all branches, and they will be asked at the May National Council how they intend to contribute to the election of a worker friendly Government. If you don’t fight you lose.

Conditions and safety in the fishing industry flows through into conditions and safety on the foreign and flag of convenience merchant vessels coming into New Zealand waters.

Our members who work on these vessels are also put at danger from poor standards, all the way from gangway nets to cranes.

Then there is the other issue. Why is New Zealand not working more of its own fisheries resources with New Zealand vessels and crews, which would deliver jobs at a time of high unemployment?

Fishing industry

The concern with free trade deals is that many New Zealanders aren’t aware what free trade deals mean for New Zealand.

This is not surprising as no one has been told the truth – at least, by the politicians, bureaucrats and corporate interests who are promoting free trade deals, and the tame and compliant New Zealand media.

Just one example of how New Zealand is laying itself wide open for all sorts of ‘free trade’ problems down the track is the ability of overseas corporations to sue the New Zealand Government and make off with taxpayer dollars.

This happens overseas all the time.

In November 2010, Prime Minister John Key said the idea that investors could sue the New Zealand government was “far fetched.”

A US trade negotiator in Washington later corrected John Key. “New Zealand had retracted the Prime Minister’s statement. It is not their position.”

Good to know who’s running the show.

New Zealand – that’s all of us – can actually be taken to “court” by corporations to a secret international tribunal to enforce free trade deals such as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Under free trade agreements, overseas investors can claim millions in compensation from governments if they feel any new regulation is hurting their “investment.”

Professor Jane Kelsey says there can be three explanations for the John Key flipflop.

“Either John Key did not know what his negotiators were proposing to do . . . or he was lying to the New Zealand public; or he has buckled to pressure from the US, and possibly his own Minister and officials, to agree.

I think guilty to all of the above.

Either way it’s not a good look.

Jane Kelsey says the Prime Minister needs to be upfront about the government’s real position and explain why he is prepared to give foreign firms the legal power to override New Zealand’s sovereignty.

The Maritime Union agrees. Transparency is needed.

The Maritime Union notes with great regret the loss of more lives in maritime disasters around New Zealand waters.

Five crew died and 17 missing are missing presumed dead after the No. 1 In Sung sank on Monday 13 December, 2,700km south-east of Bluff.

The Korean-owned and operated fishing vessel visited Bluff annually from December 2006 to take on stores as it headed out to the Southern Ocean.

This follows the sinking of the Oyang 70 off the South Island in August 2010. Three crew died in that event.

Eyewitness reports indicate that an overweight net being pulled into the Oyang 70 caused it to destabilize and sink.

Although we do not represent fishing crews, the Union has an obligation to look out for the interests of these workers through the ITF. We do a very good job of this, and are often the only friendly organization that can look after employment problems and other concerns of these workers.

It is sad to say but for many of their employers these workers are a disposable commodity.

The attitude of our Government and bureaucracy also leaves a lot to be desired.

“Out of sight, out of mind” could be the problem here.

The enormity of the loss of life and the questions about why the sinkings occurred must force us to take notice and tighten up this industry before more workers are killed in the name of private profit.

New Zealand craft are involved in search and rescue efforts, and these crews are often repatriated through New Zealand.

This is both a risk and a cost. But why should’nt the private enterprises who profit from these vessels pay up when things go wrong?

These fishing operations often have many New Zealand connections. We have an obligation to ensure that crews of whatever nationality who are involved in this industry are protected from exploitation and harm.

www.munz.org.nz

Free Trade deals

Seafarers don’t do Dockers’ Work There is continuing pressure for overseas crews to do the work of Dockers.

The potential is there for waterfront workers to start letting the situation slip by giving away even small jobs to seafarers.

This must stop.

It might seem like the easy option to let some tasks go but it is not, it’s called lazy.

Sooner or later, once the cancer has set in, our work will be gone and employers will be quite happy for it to be done for free by overseas crews.

This is a global problem and something the ITF is fighting around the world.

It’s our work. But it will only stay our work if we do it, be vigilant and defend our right to do our work, and think of the generations that follow us.

Fight for worker rights.

Health and Safety Workers have a right to privacy. Drug and alcohol testing is a dangerous area as it can be open to abuse and creates all sorts of problems.

The Union will defend all members’ rights, as members of the Maritime Union we have a responsibility to each other, our industry and the Union to do the right thing. Think safe and go home at the end of the day.

Unemployment Nearly 60 000 New Zealanders are on the unemployment benefit. Unemployment rose to 6.8% in the last quarter of 2010.

The nonsense argument that this is because unemployed people “do not want to work” is blown out of the water by the fact that very low unemployment levels were achieved in previous years.

This shows two things.

One is that people will work if the jobs are there.

The other is that an unregulated, free market capitalist system cannot generate secure jobs for all.

One final figure to consider.

In September 2010, the youth unemployment rate for 15-19 year olds was 23.3 percent. This is now likely to be higher.

Once upon a time in New Zealand, such a figure would have been rightly regarded as a scandal. These days, it seems to be accepted. That is a sad indictment on New Zealand and something we need to change.

[Continued on page 7]

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 5

INTERNATIONAL

Maritime Union of Australia Western Australia Conference,

Fremantle, West Australia, 21–25 February 2011

By Garry Parsloe National Vice President

Day One (Monday 21 February) On the first day, the Conference opened with the Youth Section.

This was a positive day with the Youth being educated into the importance of bringing good Delegates and Union Officials out of their ranks to ensure strength within the Union.

Day Two (Tuesday 22 February) The conference opened with a “Welcome to Country” by the traditional owners.

The official opening of Conference was by the WA Shadow Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Fisheries, Jon Ford.

Jon spoke on Trade Union Rights and how Labour will look after Trade Union conditions going into the future.

We then had a session to remember Paddy Troy, Fremantle Working Class Hero.

Next was a MUA West Australia Branch DVD. It gave a detailed view on the running of the Branch and some of the campaigns and activities that the Branch is involved with.

The next session was by MUA National Secretary and President of the ITF Paddy Crumlin.

Paddy gave an overview of the Patricks dispute.

Paddy went on to address casualisation, permanent employment, training, certification and the curse of the nonunion.

After morning smoko we had a DVD presentation from National Secretary of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (UK), Bob Crow.

Next presentation was from MUA Western Australia Branch Secretary, Chris Cain.

Chris stated the most important thing for Unions to do was to organise.

Chris went on to address some of the campaigns and activities in the Branch.

Next speaker was the Secretary of the South Korean Transport Workers’ Union.

We had a presentation from Paddy Hill (Birmingham Six) and Gerry Canton (Guildford Four) from the Miscarriage of Justice Organisation (MOJO).

The next presentation was from International Vice President of the ILWU, Ray Familathe. Ray gave a report on some of the attacks on workers’ rights in the USA. 6 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

MUNZ General Secretary Joe Fleetwood (centre) with MUA comrades at the MUA West Australia State Conference, Fremantle, February 2011

Ray concluded by addressing the importance of being part of the International. It is the solidarity of the International that wins disputes.

The next speaker was Jacklyn Smith from the Norwegian Seafarers’ Union. Jacklyn spoke on Offshore and Cabotage issues in Norway.

Next speaker was Steve Todd from the RMT (UK). Steve reported on some of his Union’s problems especially with the present Government.

Industrial relations were almost the same as the industrial relations that our Government is introducing in New Zealand. The Unions are preparing for a Day of Action, and fighting back in the same manner as we are fighting back in New Zealand.

The next speaker was MUNZ National Secretary Joe Fleetwood.

Joe spoke on health and safety issues, the Pike River Mine disaster, the Canterbury earthquakes, oil and gas agreements, the bonds between the MUA and MUNZ, the Boron dispute, the formation of MUNZ and the current dispute with the Ports of Auckland.

Joe concluded by reminding the meeting that the Columbus Canada was turned away from Auckland without a box being unloaded.

The final international speaker was ILWU International Secretary/Treasurer Willie Adams. Willie spoke on organising for workers’ rights, the Boron dispute, the labour movement and the need to fight for your Union and Union Rights.

The last speaker on Day Two was MUA WA Assistant Branch Secretary Will Tracey.

Will spoke about the growth in the Branch, organising campaigns and health and safety issues.

Day Three (Wednesday 23 February 2011) This opened with a presentation from ITF Maritime Co-Ordinator (UK), Steve Cotton.

Steve spoke on the policies that came out of the Mexico Congress and how we must now deliver on these policies.

This section stressed the importance of not letting seafarers do dockers’ work.

The second speaker was Zenzo Mahlangu, South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union. He spoke about the benefits of being affiliated to the ITF. In this session we also had presentations from Paulino De Costa, Timor Leste Maritime and Transport Union., the President of the Indonesian Seafarers’ Union, Hanafi Rustandi and Reg McAlister from the Papua Maritime Workers’ Union.

After morning smoko on Day Three we had presentations under the heading of Community Campaigning.

www.munz.org.nz

NEWS The first speaker was CFMEU Organiser Dave Kerin.

Dave spoke on issues of struggle and how Socialists laid the foundation for the Trade Union Movement to deliver on the conditions that workers have fought and secured for today.

There was another presentation from the Miscarriage of Justice Organisation (MOJO).

The three MOJO speakers all spoke on a range of miscarriage of justice issues in the UK. They expanded on the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four trials and incarcerations.

The afternoon session was headed Industrial Relations – Current Industrial Relations System, negotiations, bargaining in the current environment, Forward with Fairness, Future of IR, Impact of Laws, Workplace Safety.

This was a very positive session with a wide range of speakers.

Day Four (Thursday 24 February 2011) Day Four opened with a presentation on “Members Equity”.

The next presentation was from the Western Australian ITF Inspector regarding seafarers jumping ship. The report went on to address seafarer’s rights and we carried a resolution of support for a dispute in Fremantle over seafarers’ rights.

The next presentation was on the MUA Health Plan. The presentation was supported with a DVD. Next presentation was on Workers’ Compensation/Seacare and presented by Kate Dempster from McNally Jones law firm.

In the afternoon on day four we had the Regional Port and Delegates’ reports.

Day Five (Friday 25 February 2011) Day five opened with a MUA DVD that addressed safety on the job.

The next session was headed “Unions Working Together in WA”.

The speakers were CFMEU Secretary Kevin Reynolds, AMWU Secretary Steve McCartney, TWU Secretary Jim McGiveron, and AWU Secretary Steve Price.

All the speakers spoke about the need for Unions to work together in the best interests of the workers they represent.

The discussion then went into talking about poaching and Union coverage.

This was a robust debate with the Unions expressing their views on how the other Unions were organising.

After morning smoko we had a session headed Growth Retention.

After lunch we endorsed resolutions of Conference then had the closing speeches from Chris Cain and Paddy Crumlin.

This was a very positive and productive Conference. www.munz.org.nz

General Secretary’s Resisting Report National’s privatization plans [continued from page 5]

Rail manufacturing campaign The Maritime Union has strongly supported calls for New Zealand rail stock to be built in KiwiRail’s own workshops such as Hillside in Dunedin.

We are very concerned that this work is being offshored away from highly skilled New Zealand workers, who are members of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union.

The decision by KiwiRail management (who are no doubt guided by the National Government) to send work away from New Zealand is bad for our industry.

We note that Minister of Transport Steven Joyce said that free trade agreements were influencing the decision.

If free trade deals mean New Zealand public enterprises such as KiwiRail are unable to procure through local suppliers, or in this case their own workshops, then we have to ask why free trade deals are being signed.

We will continue to call for the right of New Zealand workers to manufacture goods to be used as part of our national infrastructure.

Direct industrial action is one possibility to make the powers that be listen.

Interport Port Chalmers Dunedin Branch hosted the 2011 Interport sports tournament in February.

This annual event is always popular and draws together members from throughout New Zealand for fishing, golf and indoor sports.

Not many unions can claim such an event as their own.

Many branches still hold picnic days, Christmas and end of year shouts and functions for retired and veteran members.

These events provide great enjoyment for members, veterans, families and friends of the Union.

Congratulations to those who organize and volunteer their time and support these events.

The Maritime Union says the planned privatization of key public assets must be stopped.

The Prime Minister announced early this year the National Government was planning partial sales of key state assets.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the loss of further public assets would be a disaster for working people.

He says the Maritime Union would campaign to protect the assets that generations of New Zealand workers collectively contributed towards and built up.

“There is no way we can allow the National Government to flog off any more public assets to their rich mates.”

Mr Fleetwood says public assets such as energy and electricity generators and Solid Energy should remain in public ownership.

He says that previous claims the privatization of assets would benefit “mum and dad investors” were nonsense.

“All New Zealand mums and dads are already shareholders in these public assets.

The only beneficiaries of privatization will be overseas investors and a minority of the very wealthy.”

“Privatization is not a one off, it is a process, and National is trying to get the process underway that will end in the sell off of the last remaining assets we own.”

He says that guarantees that majority ownership would remain in New Zealand hands were not worth the paper they were written on.

Mr Fleetwood says that asset sales together with free trade deals would soon reduce New Zealanders to tenants in their own country.

He says the Maritime Union would be mobilizing in election year to ensure all New Zealanders were aware of the threat of privatization.

National President Phil Adams resigned as national president on 11 February 2011 and national vice president Garry Parsloe is the acting national president whilst the election is conducted.

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 7

INTERNATIONAL

Australian Workers’ Union National Conference 13–17 February 2011, Gold Coast, Queensland

MUNZ National Vice President Garry Parsloe with Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard at the AWU Conference, Queensland, February 2011

by Garry Parsloe National Vice President National Secretary Joe Fleetwood and I attended the Australian Workers’ Union National Conference on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

On the first day of the Conference (Sunday 13 February) Joe and I attended a workshop on Oil and Gas. At the Workshop we had a discussion around the massive projects in Gorgon and Gladstone.

We discussed union growth, union coverage and other issues in these projects.

The National Secretary took the opportunity in this session to thank all unions present for their solidarity and support in delivering conditions of employment to MUNZ members in the Oil and Gas Industry.

Day Two Monday 14 February was the official opening of the Conference.

AWU National Secretary Paul Howes opened the Conference by welcoming all the international guests to the Conference.

The AWU President addressed the Conference.

8 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

He spoke about leadership and membership involvement in the union and how their involvement has put the AWU in the strong position that it is in today.

The AWU National Secretary then noted past Union Officials.

The Conference then sang the Australian national anthem and Solidarity Forever.

We then had a video presentation on the history of the AWU. The speech from AWU National Secretary Paul Howes made reference to the recent disasters in Queensland, the importance of returning the Labor Government in the next election, Industrial Relations Legislation, growth in union membership, union coverage and being stronger by staying united.

After morning smoko we had an Aboriginal welcome.

The Queensland Premier Anna Bligh addressed the Conference.

Anna spoke about the Queensland flood disasters, the formation of the Labour Party, growth of jobs in Queensland, the leadership of the AWU and the need to represent workers.

We had a Victorian Branch report where the State Secretary spoke about the growth in membership in Victoria, the ongoing training programme for the membership and the protection of workers’ wages and conditions.

The Secretary of the Japan Workers’ Union addressed the conference. His union has over two million members.

After lunch we had an address from Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten.

He spoke about how a good union functions, the absolute need for a good Superannuation Scheme and the need for unions to fight for all forms of conditions for workers.

The next speaker was ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence.

Jeff spoke on the role of unions and the importance of keeping unions strong, unemployment, temporary migrant workers, free trade and campaigning for workers rights.

In the later part of day two we had further Branch reports.

Branch Secretaries spoke on Union membership growth, Union coverage and employment issues.

In the last session on day two we had a presentation from EPMU General Secretary, Andrew Little.

Andrew spoke on the Queensland flood disaster, the formation of the EPMU and relationships between Unions.

Day Three On the morning of Tuesday 15 February we had a presentation on the problems facing miners and their unions in Mexico.

Next we had a presentation from MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin.

Paddy spoke about the need for good Governments that will look after workers and their families.

He went on to say that we cannot rely on Governments, we must also have good Unions that continue to work in the best interest of workers.

The next speaker was Deputy Prime Minister, Wayne Swan.

Wayne spoke about the need for good Unions that look after their members and those Unions must work with a Government that also looks after workers.

www.munz.org.nz

INTERNATIONAL Wayne went on to talk about the economic meltdown, global financial crisis, the recent disasters in Australia and industrial relations legislation.

After morning smoko we had an address from the Metal Workers’ Union of Japan.

Their representative spoke on casual employment, work that delivered no pensions and never had the same benefits that permanent workers enjoy.

The IMF has a membership of 50 million and it will work hard on campaigns to deliver for its membership.

In the afternoon we heard a series of Branch reports.

Day Four This opened with a good debate around Social Dumping. The meeting carried a firm resolution against any form of Social Dumping.

Social Dumping is when temporary labour is moved between countries by employers, to drive down wages and conditions, and increase profits.

The next speaker was from the Danish Metal Workers’ Union.

This Union has 130,000 members. He spoke about the need for a Global Trade Union Federation.

The next speaker was Greg Combet, former ACTU Secretary and now the Minister of Climate Change in the Labor Government.

Greg spoke about campaigning around workers’ rights, unfair dismissals, climate change and other environmental issues.

After morning smoko we had a presentation on work protection income.

The next speaker representing the International Union of Food Workers was Ron Oswald.

Ron spoke about building better lives for workers and working hard to stop global corporations from exploiting workers.

Most of the afternoon was taken up with Branch Reports and Resolutions.

Day Five On the last day Joe Fleetwood, MUNZ General Secretary, addressed the Conference.

Joe’s speech was well received by the delegates who gave him a loud and long acclamation.

After Joe’s presentation we had a Western Australia State presentation by their Secretary, Stephen Price. Stephen expanded on some of his Branch’s campaigns.

The Secretary, then President, both summed up the Conference.

www.munz.org.nz

Address to AWU Conference

by MUNZ General Secretary Joe Fleetwood, 17 February 2011 I bring fraternal greetings from the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

The Maritime Union offers its condolences and best wishes to the families that were forced to endure the wrath of Mother Nature recently in Queensland with the flooding and cyclone Yasi.

The Maritime Union appreciates the invitation to attend the 2011 Conference of the Australian Workers’ Union.

We have a number of similarities.

Both of our Unions have a very long, proud and colourful history. We both are active Unions who seek to deliver the best for our members.

Obviously there are some differences too.

The AWU is somewhat larger numerically than the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

But we like to think we punch above our weight.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand was formed in 2002 by the amalgamation of the Waterfront Workers’ Union and the New Zealand Seafarers’ Union.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand shares a close relationship with the MUA, and in recent years with progress in the offshore industry we have developed stronger links to the EPMU in New Zealand and now the AWU in Australia.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand looks forward to building on these achievements with our brother and sister Unionists across the Tasman Sea. 2010 was a tough year for New Zealand.

New Zealand workers are fighting to maintain wages, conditions and a way of life.

We suffered the Canterbury earthquake in September 2010, with major damage but no direct loss of life [Editor’s note – this speech took place just before the latest devastating earthquake].

The Pike River coal disaster claimed the lives of 29 miners, including many members of our fellow Union the EPMU. Unemployment is rising and we have a National Party Government pursuing an anti – worker and privatization agenda.

Wage growth is low and not keeping up with the increase in cost of living.

There have been major repercussions from the global financial crisis with the collapse of a number of financial institutions.

We have an election year this year and the Maritime Union will be working hard for a Labour led coalition Government with support from other left parties under our MMP electoral system, which is also up for referendum.

The Maritime Union is making good progress in some areas and we expect that the offshore oil and gas industry on both sides of the Tasman will continue to be a major growth area for our Union.

In the rest of the industry, we have the attacks of casualisation, company unions, and hostile employers, with an anti–union, anti–worker government in place.

Health and Safety issues are a big part of our work, and the social dumping of overseas crews especially in the fishing industry and on flag of convenience vessels.

Exploitation is rife, and local jobs, wages and conditions are at risk.

The Maritime Union is campaigning against Free Trade Deals, and we believe that New Zealand does not appreciate the serious impact of unregulated free trade.

In short, many of the challenges we face, you face.

I enjoyed hearing the discussion and debate with the AWU, thank you for the invitation to be here on behalf of the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

I wish you all the best for your Conference and the future.

Get the latest.

Maritime Union online www.munz.org.nz

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 9

INTERPORT

Golfers, Chisholm Park links, Dunedin (photography by Stuart Crawford)

Interport 2011

Port Chalmers–Dunedin, New Zealand Indoor Sports

Golf

Best Blue Cod: Cyril Todd, Pt Chalmers Best Bass: Andrew Shaw, Pt Chalmers Oddest Fish (Monkfish): Ron Lee, Pt Chalmers Best Jock Stewart: Fred Salelea, Auckland Best Trumpeter: Cyril Todd, Pt Chalmers

In spite of the unavailability of snooker facilities, the indoor sports organiser Ross Abernethy, ran an excellent tournament for the indoor competitors, as game controller at the Forbury Park Sports Bar at Forbury Park raceway.

Numbers were up on last year, however, all ports are urged to add competitors to this enjoyable and competitive group who contested darts, pool and indoor bowls.

On Day One the group played progressive pairs where everyone changes partners each game, while points are accumulated.

Day Two

Day One – Progressive Pairs

Best Blue Cod (6 lbs): Ray Munce, Auckland Best Trumpeter (5.5 lbs): Tony Townsend, Timaru Best Groper (6.55 lbs): Dave Perkins, Pt Chalmers Best Barracuda (7.5 lbs): Jeff Hindle, Pt Chalmers Best Odd Fish (Raisned Bream): Dave Perkins, Pt Chalmers

1st Trevor Arbuckle, Pt Chalmers 2nd Ross Abernethy Pt Chalmers (after playoff with J. Mullen) 3rd James Mullen, Dunedin 4th Dave Thorpe, Lyttelton

Day Three

Day Two – Round Robin Darts

Best Blue Cod (6.3 lbs): Dave Perkins, Pt Chalmers Best Groper (12.55 lbs): Fred Salelea, Auckland Best Odd Fish (Octopus) (12.5 lbs): Doug Phillips, Auckland Best Jock Stewart (3.25 lbs): Harry Mayn, Auckland Best Barracuda (6.5 lbs): Dave Perkins, Pt Chalmers

1st James Mullen, Dunedin 2nd Colin Perriman, Dunedin 3rd Ross Abernethy, Pt Chalmers 4th Ron (Chiefy) Te Moananui, Dunedin

Interport Cup – 54 Hole Nett 1st G. Waugh, Pt Chalmers 2nd F. Adams, Pt Chalmers Chapman Plate – 54 Hole Agg. Nett C. Waretini, Auckland Rare Cup – 54 Hole Gross 1st S. Chambell, Auckland 2nd J. Behrent, Auckland Flett Black Memorial - 54 Hole Par 1st D. Lewis, Pt Chalmers 2nd A. Peke, Auckland George Waller Memorial - 54 Hole Stableford 1st D. Manu, New Plymouth 2nd B. Williams, Tauranga Crockett & Lewis Cup - 18 Hole Stableford B. Souter, Lyttelton Bill Brown Memorial - Best Nett Outside Main Trophies D. Belsham, Auckland Norm Fisher Memorial - Best Gross Any Day C. McWilliams, Pt Chalmers KereKere Canoe - 36 hole Gross Nett - Teams 1st Pt Chalmers (C. McWilliams, G. Donaldson, F. Adams, G. Waugh [C], D. Lewis, R. Douglas) 2nd Auckland (S. Chambell, J. Behrent, C. Waretini, A. Slade, D. Belsham, A Peke [C]) Tarera Cup - Winners 4 Ball Best Ball R.Ashford,Tauranga; G.Waugh Pt Chalmers Wellington Cup - Runners Up 4 Ball Best Ball S. Whitehead, Whangarei; M. McDonald, Timaru Tom Heenan Memorial Trophy A. Waugh, Port Chalmers Credit Union Cup – Ladies 18 Hole Stableford C. Donaldson, Pt Chalmers Visitors Trophy – 18 Hole Stableford G. Butler, Pt Chalmers Most Honest Golf – M. Myers, Auckland Artie Pitcher Visitors Trophy – Best Nett M. McDonald, Timaru Ray Dobson Memorial – Best Gross Visitors P. Austin, Timaru, Terry Ryan

Results courtesy of Terry Ryan

Fishing Day One

Day Four Best Barracuda (5.2 lbs): Kevin Ansell, Timaru Best Blue Cod (1 lb): Ron Lee, Pt. Chalmers Best Salmon (11.25 lbs): Paul Simonson, Pt Chalmers Best Oddfish (Bass)(1.8 lbs): Matt Dougherty, Pt Chalmers Best Red Cod: Matt Dougherty, Pt Chalmers

Overall Pacifica Trophy (Biggest Trumpeter): Steve Conroy, Auckland Port News Cup (Biggest Blue Cod): Dave Perkins, Pt Chalmers Tall Tale (Hard Luck Shield ): Terry Ryan, Auckland Biggest Groper: Fred Salelea, Auckland Best Salmon: Paul Simonson, Pt Chalmers 10 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

Day Three – Pool Tournament 1st Ron Te Moananui, Dunedin 2nd James Mullen, Dunedin 3rd Trevor Arbuckle, Pt Chalmers 4th Dennis Sewell, Lyttelton

Day Four - Indoor Bowls 1st James Mullen, Dunedin 2nd Ross Abernethy, Pt Chalmers 3rd Ron Te Moananui, Dunedin 4th Colin Perriman, Dunedin Highest score in darts – 156: Trevor Arbuckle, Pt Chalmers Highest finish in darts – 121: Dave Thorpe, Lyttelton Hard luck story – Trevor Arbuckle, Pt Chalmers (for sinking black on break to go down in a whitewash to Dave Thorpe, Lyttelton)

www.munz.org.nz

INTERPORT

Fishing: Clive Giles weighs and Dave Dick records catch of the day

Indoor sports, Forbury Park racecourse, Dunedin

www.munz.org.nz

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 11

1951

Confrontation between workers and police, Cuba Street, Wellington, 1951 (photograph from Richard Scott collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand)

1951: The Big Blue

by Victor Billot The 1951 Waterfront Lockout is regarded as a landmark of New Zealand history.

For “151 days” the waterfront workers of New Zealand and their allies resisted attacks from the right wing National Government of Sid Holland, employers, police and establishment media.

In the days of the dispute, the National Government used the armed forces to work the waterfront, passed fascistic “emergency” legislation that outlawed expressing an opinion, and made it illegal to feed the children of locked out workers.

Police attacked peaceful demonstrations with baton charges, a compliant media poured contempt on the watersiders, and midnight raids took place on workers’ homes.

The leadership of the Federation of Labour worked against the watersiders, who they regarded as a threat to their own powerbase.

12 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

The Labour Party refused to take sides.

Largely isolated, the watersiders resisted.

However the opposing forces were too strong. After 151 days of the lockout, the battle was over.

The legacy of 1951 continued on in New Zealand.

Genuine unions gradually reasserted themselves on the waterfront, and other veterans of 1951 ended up as activists and leaders throughout the trade union movement in different industries.

The origins of the lockout The Waterfront Workers’ Union had been the leading militant union in the post war period.

While numerically smaller than many other unions in an age of compulsory unionism, its industrial influence and progressive politics were second to none.

The watersiders had an active social dimension, including picnic days and charitable efforts, plus sporting teams, bands and even a debating club.

Although affiliated to the Labour Party, the WWU had been critical of many of the right wing tendencies of the last years of the first Labour Government.

The union campaigned against the Government on issues including opposing compulsory arbitration and conscription.

The election of 1949 brought a new right wing National Government, returning to power for the first time in 14 years following their landslide defeat during the Great Depression.

The Federation of Labour represented unions from the private sector. It was dominated by its President, Fintan Patrick Walsh.

Walsh was also President of the Seamen’s Union and a complex character. In his youth he had been a radical, but once he had established his position, he ran the union movement with authoritarian methods along with a few key allies.

www.munz.org.nz

1951 Walsh had clashed repeatedly with the leadership of the Waterfront Union that included WWU President Jock Barnes and Secretary Toby Hill.

This contradiction was to come to the fore in the 1951 dispute, when the vast majority of seafarers backed the watersiders, but their own Union President, Walsh, was opposed to the watersiders’ actions.

In 1950, the Waterfront Workers Union led a walkout of blue collar and more militant unions from the FOL Conference after another disagreement on policy.

They then formed an alternative Trade Union Congress.

This split in the movement was to have serious repercussions for the watersiders during the dispute, although the reasons for their actions were valid.

At the time, industrial relations were heavily regulated in New Zealand.

Wage claims were set by the Arbitration Court with input from the FOL and employers.

Waterfront wages and conditions were set by a Waterfront Industry Authority, which employed watersiders and assigned them to employers on the waterfront.

A series of disputes occurred as the watersiders demanded better conditions.

Working in dangerous and primitive conditions, their jobs meant loading and unloading bulk cargoes manually.

They worked loading carcasses in freezer holds, with dangerous chemicals like lead tetra-ethyl and phosphate slag, and dirty substances such as lampblack. Injuries and death were common.

The final straw was when the Arbitration Court handed out a general 15% wage increase for workers in 1951. The Waterfront Commission put a 9% increase on for watersiders.

Wages had fallen well behind inflation.

For years New Zealand workers had first endured the Great Depression, the rigours of war, and the post-war years when rationing continued.

Workers wanted to get their share of the increasing wealth.

The Union refused to work overtime above a 40 hour week from 13 February 1951.

The waterfront workers were locked out on 15 February for refusing overtime, the nation’s ports came to a standstill and on 21 February the National Party Prime Minister Sid Holland declared a state of emergency.

The following day he warned that New Zealand was ‘at war’.

Despite the opposition of their President Fintan Patrick Walsh, rank and file seamen went on strike in support of the watersiders, along with freezing workers, miners, hydroelectric workers, and some drivers and railway workers.

www.munz.org.nz

Lyttelton watersiders agree to a 40 hour week, February 1951

151 Days of Rain The effects of the national stoppages were severe.

Inexperienced servicemen were ordered to work on the wharves.

The National Government introduced “emergency regulations” and de-registered the watersiders and allied unions.

Funds were seized from union offices, and it was made illegal to distribute printed material that supported the union.

Around 22,000 workers were involved at the high point of the dispute.

The watersider’s leaders toured the country, despite the regulations, and spoke to large meetings in the main centres.

Great support was forthcoming from overseas unions, including the waterfront, seamen’s and miners’ unions in Australia, and the ILWU, the Canadian Seamen’s Union, and the Marine Cooks and Stewards Unions in North America – the last two who were to later be destroyed by right wing Governments and their collaborators in their own countries.

Tense scenes were witnessed outside ports as police protected groups of scabs registered for work and were confronted by the locked out watersiders.

In some of the more isolated towns, smaller groups of locked out and striking workers were under enormous pressure.

Without income, many workers soon found themselves in desperate straits, despite the highly organized relief committees set up by the unions that sourced food and sustenance for families.

The Federation of Labour represented a much larger group of workers than the watersiders and their allies.

But the FOL leaders like Walsh refused to assist and described the watersiders as authors of their own misfortune.

The Labour Party, under the leadership of Walter Nash, opposed the emergency laws but refused to back either side in the dispute and instead sat on the fence.

Nash’s famous quote was that “we are neither for the watersiders nor against them.”

On 30 April a railway bridge near Huntly was dynamited, disrupting coal supplies.

The act was described by Prime Minister Sid Holland as “terrorism”, but warnings were given and no one was hurt in the incident.

On 2 May, unionists marching to attend a rally at Parliament were attacked by baton wielding police in Cuba Street, Wellington.

On 1 June or “Bloody Friday”, police attacked a peaceful march of 1000 men and women in Queen Street, Auckland.

Many were seriously hurt and treated in hospital.

Two days later, 17,000 workers and supporters gathered in a peaceful rally in Auckland Domain.

[continued next page]

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 13

1951

Gathering potatoes at Pukekohe for the locked out workers, 1951 (Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand)

The home front – the experience of families The waterfront was a macho and male dominated world, as was the Union.

However given the attitudes of this “pre feminist” era, the watersiders had a progressive approach to involving women in the Union.

During the lockout, women’s auxiliaries helped to organize supplies for struggling families.

Some women had to return to work to support their families.

Women had worked during the Second World War in many occupations, but by the 1950s the standard situation was a male worker and a female in the home.

The effect of the lockout was severe.

Food, rent and bills were an issue for many, despite the assistance of the union.

Some young family members had to go to work rather than stay in school.

Marriages and family relationships were destroyed due to the huge stress involved.

But many of the families held together despite all of the strain.

14 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

The “Emergency Legislation” and Red Hysteria During the lockout, the National Government put in place regulations that have gone down in history as being the greatest infringements of personal liberty that New Zealand has ever seen.

Watersiders and their supporters were not permitted to promote their case in public, meetings were shut down, demonstrations forbidden and violently attacked by police, unions deregistered and their funds seized, and a stream of propaganda from private and State media was directed against the locked out workers.

It was even made illegal to supply food to the children of striking workers.

The dispute took place at the beginning of the Cold War, and took on a political context.

The fragile World War Two alliance between the West and the Soviet Union had quickly collapsed following the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

The small but well-organized Communist Party had a presence on the New Zealand waterfront as it did in Australia and the USA. This was used as a pretext by the Government to whip up fear and resentment towards the watersiders.

The communists were only a small minority of the leadership and rank and file of the Union.

They were voted in on their strengths as unionists more than their political views.

Several writers have mentioned the fact that most of the waterside workers leaders were far too independent minded to join the highly disciplined Communist Party.

Getting the message out: the media The control of the media by the ruling class (National Government and employers) was almost complete. Some of the media such as radio stations were Government controlled.

The print media was largely privately owned, but was generally in complete alignment with the Government. The owners and managers of most newspapers were entirely hostile to the watersiders.

To read some of the vicious and one sided attacks on the watersiders, and the constant shower of misinformation and abuse, is very disturbing and an eye opener for anyone who thinks we have a “free press.”

However, the watersiders fought back.

They had their newspaper, the Transport Worker, edited by Dick Scott, who later wrote an account of the lockout called 151 Days.

When it became illegal to publicize the union’s side of the story, clandestine printing presses ran off thousands of leaflets that were distributed underground.

www.munz.org.nz

1951 Defeat and returning to work – the legacy of ‘51 Following the end of the dispute, many watersiders were blacklisted by employers in ports such as Auckland, but in other ports managed to get back onto the waterfront.

Jock Barnes was imprisoned for defaming a policeman, a charge he denied, and many of the deregistered watersiders faced hard times.

Scab labour had been brought in over the course of the dispute, and bogus unions set up by the employers, and this led to ongoing tension between different groups of workers.

Over time, the genuine unionists managed to take control of the waterfront unions.

The original union had been deregistered and broken up into the port unions. They eventually federated and after many years became a national union again, although the effects of this situation were felt for many years afterwards.

Many of the watersiders and their allies became leading trade union officials and activists in later years, both in and outside the maritime industry.

The National Government was returned with a stronger majority in a snap 1951 election.

They had successfully promoted the dispute as being about “reds under the beds”.

A few days after the election, the British shipping companies announced a 15% rise in freight rates.

With the Cold War in full swing, hysteria about communist infiltrators in militant unions, the decline of class awareness of many New Zealand workers since the Great Depression, all helped to usher in what has been described as a conservative era that lasted through to the late 1960s.

This era also saw low unemployment and rising wages, as New Zealand experienced a commodity boom through high prices for its agricultural produce.

Some argue that in 1951 the watersiders’ union made tactical mistakes, and allowed themselves to be isolated outside the “mainstream” trade union movement.

Another view is that the watersiders were going to be attacked by the establishment sooner or later, and had to defend themselves.

Without struggle, workers do not advance.

Defeats occur but the key is to learn from the mistakes.

The lessons of 1951 are still being debated, but the central importance of the 151 day struggle to working class history cannot be denied by anyone.

www.munz.org.nz

More information on the 1951 lockout History 151 Days: The Great Waterfront Lockout and Supporting Strikes, (50th anniversary edition) by Dick Scott (Reed, 2001) The Big Blue : snapshots of the 1951 waterfront lockout, ed. David Grant (Canterbury University Press in association with the Trade Union History Project, 2004) Never a white flag: The memoirs of Jock Barnes, Waterfront Leader, ed. Tom Bramble (Victoria University Press, 1998)

Video Shattered Dreams, by D. Parker and F. Wevers (Trade Union History Project) 1951, directed and produced by John Bates (Bates Productions) Online at http://www.nzonscreen.com/ title/1951-2001

Music Chris Prowse “Trouble on the waterfront” CD album (ProCo Productions, 2009) http://www.myspace.com/cprowse

British Capital, Antipodean Labour: The New Zealand Waterfront, 1915–1951, by Anna Green (University of Otago Press, 2001) Against the Wind, the story of the New Zealand Seamen’s Union, by Conrad Bollinger (New Zealand Seamen’s Union, 1968) Wharfie by Bert Roth (Auckland Branch, New Zealand Waterfront Workers’ Union, 1993) Trade Unions in New Zealand, Bert Roth, (A H & A W Reed, 1973)

Poems The Ballad of Fifty-one, by Bill Sewell (HeadWorx, 2003) Clandestine leaflet attacking the National Government

“While men went below as into a mine to dig out the lampblack that darkened their days and their lungs . . .”

Bill Sewell, from ‘By Ships We Live’ (The Ballad of Fifty-one)

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 15

1951

Police stop marchers in Queen Street, Auckland, 1 June 1951 (Richard Scott collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand)

Police attack peaceful march, Queen Street, Auckland, 1 June 1951 “Late on the morning of Friday, June 1, several hundred, perhaps a thousand unionists gathered outside the Civic Theatre and with women at their head carrying banners Hear the Other Side of the Story, Domain, Sunday set off four or five abreast up Queen Street.

They were advertising a meeting which had been permitted, they were marching away from the waterfront, they were taking a route clear of heavy traffic, they were peaceful New Zealand citizens marching in their own public streets.

‘I happened to be going up Queen Street in a tram which passed the demonstration,’ veteran Labour man and former Cabinet Minister Frank Langstone told the writer.

‘They were a jovial, happy band of people,’ he said, ‘and as they shifted aside to let us through they laughed and joked with the tram passengers.

Our tram was just ascending the rise opposite Meyer’s Park when we were stopped by police cars spread across the road.

16 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

There were police in all directions. The marchers were stopped.

Some from the rear came forward to see what was going on, some turned to go back and the next thing I saw the police were using their batons indiscriminately, their arms were rising and falling bringing down crashing blows on everyone within reach.

It was God help whoever was nearest their batons. Men and women were being hit with lumps of wood by big, strong uniform-protected police.

It was the most cruel and unbridled display of unnecessary force I have ever witnessed . . . what happened in Queen Street is a warning of how ruthless and cruel authority can be when it is under no control.’

Twenty two men were badly injured. Men were helped away, their foreheads and their temples split and their faces a scarlet mask of blood, some had the backs of their heads opened with blows from behind, dozens more were bruised, cut about the face and bleeding, with their shins scored by heavy boots.

Bert Magnus, a Gallipoli veteran, was taken away reeling with deep head wounds; Tom Spiller, who had fought fascism in Spain was on his feet with a severely lacerated scalp, concussion and one arm useless from baton blows; Dorothy Eyre, wife of a ship’s carpenter and sister-in-law of Dean Eyre, Auckland Nationalist MP was battered in the face by a police fist while shielding Mrs Freda Barnes . . .”

Dick Scott, 151 Days (2001 facsimile edition), p.189

www.munz.org.nz

1951

Waterfront union officials inspect a cargo of lampblack, Wellington, 1950. From left Eddie Napier, Toby Hill, Jock Barnes, Tommy Wells.

Ship owners profits rose dramatically “. . . the employers deliberately engineered the dispute by making a pay offer they knew the Union could not accept. After triggering the dispute, they slipped out of sight, behind the government.

The British shipping companies took these actions because they wanted to regain control on the wharves – and because they could afford the costs of confrontation. Seven and a half pence, the difference between the employers’ offer and the union’s bottom line, was certainly possible for the shipping companies.

While in London I looked at some of the annual company reports filed in the late 1940s . . . declared profits rose dramatically each year after 1948. The shipping companies could afford to pay the increase.

It was not a question of profitability. It was a question of wanting to destroy the union leadership, regain control over the waterfront and run the work the way they wanted it to be run.”

Anna Green, The Big Blue (Canterbury University Press), p.114

“That day in the streets, batons whistled just like a tui strangling; a wharfie crumpled to the gutter with blood rushing to his face.”

from the poem ‘After 151 Days of Rain, Things became a lot clearer’ by Hone Tuwhare www.munz.org.nz

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 17

1951

Memories of 1951:

Tommy Gregory, watersider and seaman

Tommy Gregory, 2008 (photo courtesy Dominion Post)

by Victor Billot

Editor’s note: Less than one week after I interviewed Tommy by telephone at his Wellington home on 21 February 2011, I received the sad news from Wellington Branch Secretary John Whiting, that Tommy had suddenly passed away.

Talking with Tommy was a great privilege.

One of the last surviving veterans of the 1951 lockout, Tommy was mentally razor sharp, with clear and vivid recollections of times he spent on the waterfront.

His left wing convictions and working class credentials were still strong after a long retirement that followed a life of hard work at sea and on the waterfront.

An obituary will go into the next edition of the Maritimes.

Early years at sea Tommy Gregory, former watersider and seafarer, experienced the 1951 waterfront lockout at first hand as a young man.

Born in the UK, Tommy jumped ship in Wellington in December 1945, on his “first trip” after the Second World War. He had served on the home boats throughout the war with the Merchant Navy.

He got married in January 1949, and recalls that at the time seamen “didn’t get married much” due to often being away from home.

18 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

Becoming a watersider was a difficult process, according to Tommy.

“In those days it was very hard to get on the wharf. You had to be nominated by a member and an executive member. You went before the executive and they wanted clearances from [previous] unions.”

“If they OKed you, you had to appear before all the membership.”

If there were any challenges from the membership, the prospective worker got taken aside afterwards to find out what it was about.

Tommy joined the waterfront and Waterfront Workers’ Union Wellington Branch in 1949.

“They took a big influx.”

Tommy is coming up to 87 years of age now, and at the time was in his twenties.

Waterfront militancy “There were lots of disputes, particularly in Australia, because they were a very militant union. There were disputes over Japan and the Dutch East Indies.”

“I was bit of a militant. I was a delegate on the ships. Any problems the boss used to come and see you.”

Waterfront workers were employed by a Government-run commission and hired out to stevedore employers.

“I was working on a ship, I used to pick up in 15 shed. Everyone had a number.

Mine was 1365.”

“There were two thousand watersiders in Wellington then. There was no mechanization. Everything was moved by wheelbarrows, it was real hard work.

It got mechanized later. In 1949 all the cranes were still hydraulic.”

As a union activist, Tommy knew many of the union leaders of the time. He was friends with Ted Thompson, who later became a highly respected secretary of the Waterfront Workers’ Union.

He describes the WWU President at the time, Jock Barnes, as “very militant and forward, and very bombastic”.

He also knew Wellington based WWU Secretary Toby Hill.

Tommy says the union put a ban on overtime in 1951 and were told if you didn’t work overtime, don’t pick up your tally. “We were locked out.”

“I was a married man with wife and a child. We lived in two rooms, shared cooking. I was very lucky that lady who shared the house with us, she paid the rent and I fixed it up after the dispute.”

Tommy says the Union was very organized during the dispute.

“I used to go to the Trades Hall and had a meeting every day. Get a report. Take resolutions. Continue on.”

The watersiders had the support of seamen, freezing workers, and some of the drivers.

New Zealand under martial law “The country was under martial law. It was a real police state. People would help you, give you a couple of bob . . . but we couldn’t get our story across at all.”

Tommy was involved in the distribution of union leaflets that gave the workers’ side of the story. This was illegal under the “emergency regulations” introduced by the National Government.

I asked Tommy who he used to collect his illegal pamphlets from.

Sixty years after the event, he quickly replies, “I can’t say. It’s still secret. MI5 were trying to find out.”

One day at the Tramways depot he and another worker were handing out leaflets, when the manager asked them into his office. Tommy thought he might be going to give a donation, but the manager left the office, locked them in, and called the police.

“They went and searched my house while they were holding me there. They tried to charge me for delivering literature. The judge dismissed the case.”

“You couldn’t do anything.” www.munz.org.nz

1951

Ships lie idle in Wellington harbour during the lockout (W H Raine collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand)

Tommy recalls the march down Cuba Street that is pictured on the front cover of this issue of the Maritimes.

“There were about two thousand men. All the rest of people were up Cuba Street.

This day we decided to march down to Parliament. We had the Navy at the bottom waiting for us.”

In the close community of Wellington, the lockout had a massive effect.

“Everybody knew everybody. I practically knew everyone in Wellington. When you knew 2000 down on the wharf, the xmas parties, the picnics . . .”

“I was very disappointed the way a lot of people in Wellington turned on us.

The wharfies used to do a lot for Wellington, gave money to the children, Home of Compassion, Salvation Army, but when the dispute came the people turned on us. I could never get over that.”

Following the end of the lockout, Tommy had to get a job off the waterfront for a while, but he soon returned.

“I got back on the Wellington wharf in 1952. Most of us who wanted to come back got back. It took a little time. They sent me a telegram.”

www.munz.org.nz

Life after the lockout As some of the locked out workers like Tommy returned on to the waterfront, they came up against the replacement workers who had been brought in during and after the lockout.

“All the scabs got frightened of us, there were so few of them. They got afraid to work with us. They went into a permanent union and we went into the casual union.”

“It became the practice to put these permanent union men on the ship. But they couldn’t get enough labour. They became known as the nail gang.”

“The two unions were merged into one but you didn’t work with one another. They never came near us.”

The Government had broken up the national waterfront union into port unions during the lockout.

“We eventually got a North Island federation and we dragged in the South Island, later on.”

Tommy continued on the waterfront until 1967.

“I took sick and started coughing up blood.”

He was concerned that the work in freezing ships holds might be the cause, and he went back to sea.

Tommy was a member of the New Zealand Seamen’s Union until March 1986, when he retired.

He has good memories of his waterfront days but has regrets of what he saw during the 1951 lockout.

“We should have known when we was beat. It went on and on. You could see the outcome. Lot of marriages broke up. It was so sad. Fellas thrown out of their homes.

Like a boxer, you know when you’re beat and make the best of it.

It exhausted the membership. You were getting it from everywhere.”

He has seen the decline in size of many of the big unions of his era, and regrets seeing the unemployment of today. “The country’s never been in worse shape.”

He stresses the importance for young people to join a union.

“You must be in the Union. It’s strength.

The bigger the stronger.”

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 19

ITF

ITF Flag of Convenience Week of Action

by Grahame McLaren ITF Inspector We have now been given confirmation from the ITF Head of Maritime Operations in London that funding for our week of action has been approved.

We are organising the Flag of Convenience (FOC) week of action to take place in the very near future.

The campaign will comprise the five main ports, Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Lyttelton and Port Chalmers. We will have 6-7 participants at each port, dependent on Seafarers’ time on/off and Dockers’ rosters.

I will coordinate in Tauranga, Joe Fleetwood in Wellington, and subject to their availability, Garry Parsloe in Auckland, Clinton Norris in Lyttelton and Phil Adams in Port Chalmers.

The action will take place from the Monday morning to the Friday evening.

The main focus will be to target FOC vessels without ITF agreements, but any other foreign vessels will also come under our scrutiny.

The Week of Action will convey a very clear message to all FOC vessel owners and operators who trade in this part of the world that if they want to trade here, they need the appropriate ITF approved agreements.

Seabourn Sojourn I received an email asking for help from three Filipino security staff on board this cruise vessel.

There had been an accident en route to New Zealand involving the three crew when they were ordered to fill Breathing Apparatus (BA) bottles with compressed air.

They protested that it was not part of their normal duties and that they had never done it before, but their protest fell on deaf ears and they were forced to do it anyway.

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Unfortunately during the procedure one of the BA bottles exploded, injuring all three.

The 2 men and 1 woman were treated by the ships doctor, with the woman having a cut to the head requiring stitches, one man having burns to his hand from the freezing liquid, and the third man having lacerations and bruising.

They all wanted to be signed off on medical grounds, then repatriated and kept on wages, but the company was refusing to do this.

I went on board the vessel in Wellington to find that two of the crew involved had already left the vessel in its last port of Auckland.

The woman was in Auckland hospital with a fractured skull, and the man with burns to his hand had already been repatriated.

I spoke to the remaining man and discovered that he had also been sent ashore to the doctors in Auckland but had been declared fit for work.

He was clearly in quite a bit of pain and told me he was unable to work and still wanted to be repatriated.

I put his case to the Captain who was very unwilling to send the man home, stating that it was a medical matter, and as two separate doctors had declared him fit for work he was unable to send the man home on medical grounds.

After a bit of persuasion, and mentioning that his ship could be delayed unless the situation was resolved, the Captain eventually agreed to sign the man off on medical grounds and repatriate him as per his entitlements under the CBA. I also asked the Captain to instigate a more thorough training programme for anyone who was expected to fill BA bottles, to which he agreed.

Offshore oil and gas safety needs immediate action The Maritime Union says the Government needs to boost its monitoring and enforcement of safety regulations for the offshore oil and gas industry.

A Government review released in December 2010 found the Department of Labour inspectorate responsible for the sector is significantly under-resourced.

One inspector covers offshore and onshore oil exploration for the entire country, a much lower level of coverage than in countries such as Australia, the UK and Norway.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Joe Fleetwood says it is a high risk industry, which is a major part of the New Zealand economy and will become a bigger part.

The Union was heavily involved in the offshore oil and gas sector, which had great potential, but only if the highest standards were in place.

Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee had stated the Government would like compliance to be “as efficient as possible” but the Maritime Union wanted compliance to be “as effective as possible.”

“Efficiency in our industry is a code word for saving dollars as far as we are concerned. We want effective compliance that works, and if doing it right costs more money, slows things down and is inconvenient to the Government or any employer, then too bad. The cost of getting it wrong is just far too high.”

The Maritime Union has been pressing for tighter regulations in the maritime sector.

“This includes all aspects of safety, all the way from correct use of gangway nets through to the seaworthiness of vessels and conditions of crews, and availability of response vessels for emergency situations. This extends through to the offshore sector.”

The number of deaths and injuries in the maritime and mining sector was high. The offshore oil and gas industry combined the risk factors for both industries.

2010 has seen a substantial number of deaths and injuries on board foreign vessels both in ports and working in and around the New Zealand coast and waters, as well as the recent Pike River disaster.

“We are a proactive Union – we want the regulations and monitoring to be at top standard before any incident, not in response to things that go wrong when it is too late.”

www.munz.org.nz

PORT ROUNDUPS

Global unions supporting Mexican workers: from left, Wellington Seafarers’ Secretary Mike Clark, Wellington Seafarers’ executive member Marion Leslie, Wellington Waterfront Secretary John Whiting and EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little. They were part of a delegation of New Zealand unions who visited the Mexican embassy in Wellington on 17 February 2011 as part of a global day of action for workers’ rights in Mexico.

A letter from the unions outlining concerns with labour rights in Mexico was delivered. The embassy staff have passed this on to the Mexican Government, and acknowledged the concerns of the New Zealand unions.

EPMU National Secretary and Labour Party President Andrew Little spoke on behalf of the unions. All affiliates of the global union federations were present, including the Maritime Union, EPMU, SFWU, NDU, Finsec and RMTU. A rally of around 50 unionists gathered outside the embassy and heard speakers including Andrew Little, Paul Tolich and Green Party MP Keith Locke.

Wellington Waterfront

by John Whiting Greetings to all from MUNZ members on the Wellington Waterfront.

1951 Waterfront Lockout – 60th Anniversary 19 February 2011 marks 60 years from the day New Zealand’s watersiders were locked out by the Port employers who were demanding that an overtime ban be lifted.

The lockout and supporting strikes were to continue through to July 1951, a total of 151 days, the biggest dispute in New Zealand industrial history.

The watersiders and their families were subjected to the full forces of the state wielded by the National Party Government of the day, who were determined to remove militant and progressive trade unionism from the waterfront.

www.munz.org.nz

We would like to note the names of the few remaining 1951 Wellington watersider lockout veterans still with us: Charlie Finall, Russell French, and Tommy Walker.

We note with sadness the passing of another veteran of ‘51, Tommy Gregory, in February 2011.

We once again state our respect and admiration for the legendary resolve and solidarity shown by them and their comrades.

Workplace Drug and Alcohol testing issues This matter is currently a hot potato in the Port of Wellington and we believe it is surfacing in other Ports round the coast.

A spate of Port accidents locally in the latter part of last year led to post – accident testing recording positive tests for cannabis for three of our members.

These results spanned a five week period and all three have entered the rehabilitation provisions of the Port Company/Multi – Union drug and alcohol policy.

Not surprisingly the Port Company has reacted with a proposal to amend the current drug and alcohol policy and add random urine testing.

Our position, supported by the other site Unions, has been to maintain current MUNZ policy. i.e no random testing.

The Company has now amended its proposal to random saliva testing (this would test for impairment on the day in the workplace).

We have raised the whole issue with General Secretary Joe Fleetwood, to initiate a full and frank discussion throughout MUNZ with the object of determining a policy that primarily commits our members to be working unimpaired in what is by any standards, a high hazard workplace at all hours, day and night.

We hope members throughout the country will give this issue full and serious consideration.

Centreport Collective Agreement We have received claims from our members for the re negotiation of the Port Company/Multi – Union collective agreement. Talks are set to commence on 24 February.

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 21

PORT ROUNDUPS

Offshore Industry Meeting

by Garry Parsloe National Vice President

Labour MPs Phil Twyford, Darien Fenton, Jacinda Ardern and Carol Beaumont with Maritime Union National Vice President Garry Parsloe at the 2010 Auckland Old Timers Christmas Party

Auckland Old Timers’ Xmas Party

by Garry Parsloe National Vice President We held the Auckland Branch Old Timers’ Xmas Party at the Maritime Club in Anzac Avenue on 17 December 2010.

I welcomed all the Old Timers to their Social and thanked them for their past struggles which have helped preserve the Union in the good condition that it is in (not a lot of ships, but those that we have are on the best of wages and conditions).

I then read faxes from the vessels which among other things wished all the Old Timers the best on this very very special day.

The ships’ faxes were indicative of the high regard that the Old Timers are held in by the membership.

Old Timers from other Ports were welcomed to the party with a special reference to Tommy Cavanagh who travelled all the way from Liverpool.

Local 13 Branch Executive members representing the Auckland Branch Executive were President Garry Parsloe , Secretary/Treasurer Russell Mayn, Vice President Carl Findlay, Walking Delegate Dave Phillips and Craig Harrison, Graham McKean and Daniel Staley from the Executive.

Past Executive members in attendance included Alex McDonald (ex-President, Auckland Seamen’s Branch) and also long standing member of the Seafarers’ National Executive and ex Auckland Assistant Secretary of the New Zealand Seafarers’ Union Gerard Hill.

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It was great to have Officials from other Unions in attendance especially Len Richards from the SFWU, Ray Bianchi Secretary of the AWUNZ and Karl Andersen from the NDU. There were members from other Ports and we made big mention of John Broughton from Tauranga and our special guest MUNZ Wellington Seafarers’ Branch Secretary Mike Clark.

We had four members of Parliament at the party, Darien Fenton, Carol Beaumont, Jacinda Ardern and Phil Twyford.

The first speaker was Mike Clark, Wellington Seafarers’ Secretary who spoke on Branches supporting each other and the importance of unity.

The next four speakers were the Members of Parliament, Darien Fenton, Carol Beaumont, Jacinda Ardern, and Phil Twyford.

They all gave good presentations stating that the Old Timers’ parties were great occasions and that they were happy to attend and share in the festivities.

The last speaker was Ray Bianchi, Secretary of the Amalgamated Workers’ Union of New Zealand.

As usual Ray’s speech was very colourful with references to his earlier days at sea.

Ray went on to talk about a range of events within the Trade Union Movement.

Special thanks must go to the cooks, Kevin Todd, Graham Ingham, Mike Burke and Paul Gradiska for the excellent spread that they put on.

As always it was an excellent day out for all the Old Timers and on behalf of the Auckland Branch Executive I want to thank all those individuals and ships’ crews for their donations which made the Old Timers’ Party the success that it was.

See you all next time which will be on the 16 December 2011.

On 16 November 2010, General Secretary Joe Fleetwood, Wellington Seafarers’ Branch Secretary Mike Clark and I met with the officials of the Maritime Union of Australia to discuss issues of manning etc in Sea Tow and the Australian offshore.

The question of bringing trainees into the industry was agreed as a top priority as a shortfall of seafarers is looming, especially for the offshore.

The payment/deduction of union fees both for MUNZ and MUA was discussed and agreed with Sea Tow. On 17 November 2010 we had a meeting with the Australian offshore employers regarding manning arrangements for the Australian offshore.

There was a phone linkup with employers to discuss manning procedures and access to jobs. There needs to be ongoing dialogue with these manning issues.

Sea Tow meeting Melbourne, 24 January 2011

by Garry Parsloe National Vice President On 24 January 2011 I went to Melbourne to meet with the Management of P.B. Sea-Tow and the Maritime Union of Australia regarding the employment of New Zealand ratings in the Gladstone and Gorgon projects.

P.B. Sea-Tow has secured contracts in both Gladstone and Gorgon and it was a matter of agreeing the level of involvement of New Zealand ratings in those projects.

During the day we had a video link up with MUA West Australia branch secretary Chris Cain in Fremantle to talk further about where to place New Zealand ratings and where to employ unemployed Australian ratings where unemployment exists.

After discussions we again agreed on a way forward which was in the best interest of all parties.

www.munz.org.nz

ITF

Fairness @ work

From 1 April 2011, new employment laws created by the John Key National Government will hurt workers. The new laws make it easier for bosses to sack people, they make it harder for workers to stand together, they make it harder for workers to take leave and get paid fairly for it, and they make it harder for workers to have strength in bargaining.

The new laws are designed to take control away from workers and give that control to bosses.

The new laws will keep wages down while prices go up, make people less secure in their jobs, and allow the rich to get richer while the poor get poorer.

Join the fightback. www.munz.org.nz www.munz.org.nz

www.fairness.org.nz The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 23

PORT ROUNDUPS

Wellington Seafarers

by Mike Clark Another year upon us, but the same old problems from the last still haunt us.

We are preparing in Wellington to negotiate a number of expired documents.

Workers’ wages and conditions throughout the country are being eroded.

That horrible word redundancy is being heard in a number of industries including the wood and forestry industry.

44 have lost their livelihood at Tangiwhai, also 26 at Kawerau and in Gisborne another 30.

This follows on from the loss of 114 miners’ jobs at Pike River when it went into receivership following the tragic loss of life in the explosion in November 2010.

40 more redundancies at Yarrows Bakers in Manaia, Taranaki.

Like our brothers and sisters from the NDU and the EPMU who represent those workers, we sympathise with the families and friends of all workers throughout the country who have lost their livelihood.

Election year The year ahead will be a challenging one for all those connected to the trade union movement.

As we go to print the proposed cuts to Early Childhood Care will impact on families already struggling to pay the bills, as the increase in fees will be unaffordable to some families thus creating more hardship on the family budget.

Being election year, it is important that our Union, along with the rest of the trade union movement, keep the pressure up on the Government.

We also want to ensure come election time that a Labour led Government is returned to power.

Agreements On the local scene, as mentioned above, we have a number of Collective Agreements to be negotiated.

One of the larger ones is the KiwiRail Interislander document where the bulk of our branch members are employed.

Other agreementrs that have expired are NIWA, Ports of Wellington and SGS, where our members look after the bunkering and loading and discharging of petroleum products on the Wellington waterfront.

These talks take a considerable amount of time and research with considerable input from the members.

Hopefully these can all be concluded with a satisfactory outcome in the coming weeks.

24 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

Branch executive We have been lucky enough in the branch to secure the services of Wellington Branch Vice President Alan (Scruff) Windsor until the end of February to help out in the office.

A thank you also to the branch executive for their hard work this far. The average increase in wages this past year of 1.7% falls well short of the inflation rate of 4.1 % so hopefully we can rectify the unfairness of this in our current talks.

Monte Stello KiwiRail have confirmed they have reached agreement with Strait Shipping on the leasing of the good ship “Monte Stello” while the Aratere is away in Singapore from 1 March until 31 July 2011.

We are working through the issues of manning levels for the “Monte” while this occurs.

There are a number of smaller issues that need to be addressed of which members will be aware of and will be elaborated on at stopwork meetings.

Offshore oil and gas In the offshore oil and gas sector there has been a significant demand for labour on both sides of the Tasman.

I urge all members in this sector to please keep us informed of your whereabouts and vessels you are employed on and to ensure your CNs, qualifications, medicals and passports are kept up to date.

Also let us know of any medical issues as you may be required to undergo various countries of origin medicals, ie.

Panamanian, Norwegian, Marshall Islands etc.

As it stands at the moment most of our members are gainfully employed after a very lean 2010.

It is also worth noting if working in Australia that it is on a trip by trip basis and is strictly casual.

When joining an Australian vessel please notify the Wellington office, please remember also we have had problems in the past with members ringing companies trying to secure work without our or the MUA knowing.

This is not good trade unionism as it undermines both unions members who are waiting to ship out.

This is the reason that the National Executive made the decision that there will be no clearances issued to join the MUA until it is discussed again by the National Executive and the MUA. If things go as predicted there will be more work available in the coming months both in New Zealand and Australia but as this is our patch we have an obligation to make sure we have enough members to cover this.

With the average age of our members creeping up, we are acutely aware of the need for new blood in the industry.

We are pushing hard with various operators to achieve this by introducing trainees into the industry.

This is a hard slog as we have only two full-time vessels operating in the offshore but have scheduled meetings for early April.

After preliminary talks in Australia late last year, there is a possibility that there might be opportunities for some of our young people to be trained over there.

We are also working hard to secure some work for caterers to take up the shortfall as required.

This year is going to be a difficult one for all New Zealand workers so to be informed of what is happening, please attend your local stonework meetings.

Be assured your elected officials are working hard to maintain the wages and conditions that were secured by the members before us.

Workers voice on the airwaves

by Alan Windsor MUNZ 1799 Maritime Union members from Wellington are active in the community through the Wellington Workers’ Education Association.

Visit our website www.weawellington.org. nz You can also follow links to the WEA radio show “Educating for social change” on Access Radio – www accessradio.org.nz If Maritime Union members wish to submit any content to the radio show you can do so by mailing to Educating for Social Change, WEA Wellington, PO Box 6241, Marion Square, Wellington.

The show can also be listened to at 4pm Sundays at 783khz on the AM band.

Education is a hot topic under this Tory government, the spin they put on issues needs to be responded to so the WEA is offering a platform of education courses and discussion through its radio show “Educating for Social Change”.

Putting information in the general media puts in the too hard basket and it is no mistake the media do not put workers stories out for discussion.

As programme producers we lean towards workers issues, union and community news.

Feedback would be most welcome.

Email alanwindsor@hotmail.co.nz

www.munz.org.nz

PORT ROUNDUPS

Lyttelton

by Les Wells

Editor’s note: This contribution was received prior to the recent earthquake, for an update on Lyttelton see page 3.

Happy New Year to everyone, we hope you all had a very relaxing holiday over the Xmas and New Year break.

LPC This year starts off with Lyttelton Port Company negotiations.

This will be very interesting as I see reading the Shipping Gazette dated 15 January 2011 that the Port Company has a strong trading result for the first of 2010 to 2011 Financial year.

We look forward to the Company wanting to pass this onto their workforce.

C3 The C3 agreement comes up this year for negotiation again.

We have a meeting with them today at their request to look at a local variation to the current agreement.

Pacifica Pacifica is back on track after the rudder fell off, and I believe it was mentioned at the Xmas BBQ that things are going quite well.

So along the same line as LPC I will look forward to them passing this onto our members.

LSS At the present time Lyttelton Stevedoring Services seem to be going through a reasonably busy period with Bulks, so we hope this continues.

Boa Galatea

by Michael Will The Boa Galatea is one of only two ships of its kind in the world.

The purpose built vessel is owned by the Norwegian company Electromagnetic Geoservices.

The hull was built in China then shipped to Norway to be fitted out.

With a length of 80 metres and a dead weight of 3000 tons, she uses totally new technology for the oil industry.

Instead of using guns and streamers as in the past, electromagnetic receivers are dropped on the ocean floor and send a signal remotely to a buoy towed behind the ship, then to computers.

This is called seabed logging.

Some of this technology is still in the testing phase, and it got a good test when a howling sou-easter came through and we lost a very expensive buoy.

It was later found by a fishing boat not too far from where we were surveying off the Taranaki coast between Maui A and Maui B. The ship is positioned by Dynamic Positioning via satellite, using thrusters at both ends of the vessel.

We have a total crew of 46 but can have up to 50. The marine crew consists of one Motorman, four ABs and 6 catering staff.

The ship is in operation 24 hours a day.

Our Cooks and Stewards did a brilliant job of cooking and keeping the ship clean.

It was noted that it was the best food they have had on ship since she has been in service, making life a lot more pleasurable on board the vessel.

The prospect will be drilled by a drill ship on its way and will be drilling a well called Ruru 1 in the Maui Field.

SGS We thought we had asked them to go into talks early in the New Year but it would seem that it has fallen on deaf ears.

There could be a need for some form of action to help get them into discussion.

I think I have already informed you of the Port Company latest purchase of a RTG Kalmar Tyred Gantry Crane.

I believe that the seagulls are finding it very handy when they need a break and when there is a strong westerly blowing.

Local 13 Picnic Day 2011 Golf Results Best Gross: Bryan Metcalfe 77 Runner Up: Chic Waretini 78

Best Nett: Eddie Edmonds 66 Runner up: Michael Dengelo 71

Nearest the Pin: Hole 4: Bryan Metcalfe Nearest the Pin, Hole 14: Eddie Edmonds Nearest the Pin, Hole 17: Chic Waretini Longest Drive Club Members: Aubrey Slade Longest Drive Non club: Tira Te Rito Holes in Two: Bryan Metcalfe, Eddie Edmonds

Best Stableford: Aubrey Slade 39 Runner Up: Steve Hoani 38

www.munz.org.nz

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 25

PORT ROUNDUPS

Some of the old and new branch members at Bluff. 34 new MUNZ members at South Port have all recently signed up. Justin Diamond is still scouting and signing up more members (well done Justin.)

Front row from left – Justin Diamond, Tyson Irwin, Dale Fife. Second row from left – Chris Ryan, Bill Bragg, Brent Diamond, Graham Brown,Glen Hourston, Barbara Shaw, Kevin Kerr.

Top – Josh Gough. Dale Fife and Barbara Shaw are both third generation members of MUNZ. Dale and Barbara are both the first full time women in Bluff Branch and both are 3rd generation wharfies. Dale’s father and his father were watersiders and Barbara’s the same. Dale is the wife of Bluff watersider and MUNZ Assistant General Secretary Ray Fife, whose grandfather was a waterside worker as well.

Bluff

by Ray Fife Another year has passed. The New Year has heralded the start of a long campaign

by Labour and National to see who will form a government when the elections are held on 26 November this year.

Labour is preparing to fight the election along old fashioned class lines as it attacks the Key government for policies benefiting the rich over the poor.

National is backing itself to win on economic management as it prepares for more belt tightening and mounts an argument for selling off a stake in the big state owned power companies.

We must remember what National has done to date, what they will roll out leading up to the election and if they get in power again, we the working class will be in for a hammering for another three years.

For the politicians it’s going to be a 10 month election campaign. For the union movement it will be a 10 month campaign as well.

We must fight to rid ourselves of a government hurting workers and their families.

26 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

Agreements During the month of December we were successful in signing off both Southland Stevedoring and South Port collective agreements.

South Port negotiations were concluded after 6 months of negotiations and ratified unanimously.

Thanks must go to Justin Diamond and Brent Diamond who took the bull by the horns and started the movement to get all South Port employees into our union.

Past Members’ Function Another successful evening was held with about 70 past members in attendance.

This was the first function without Life member Rex Powley who passed away earlier in the year.

Rex when President of our Branch, started these functions in the early seventies in recognition of the retired members and the contribution they made to the union.

The function is still going strong and we as a Branch will carry on holding the event.

Timaru

by Tony Townshend There has been work on fertilizer and fish vessels for our members in Timaru, as well as out of port transfers to Port Chalmers to work on log vessels.

A couple of members will be attending Interport this year.

We enjoyed a good end of year shout at Xmas.

On a less good note, ISO have been working in the port.

www.munz.org.nz

PORT ROUNDUPS

Auckland Local 13

by Russell Mayn I hope everyone enjoyed the festive season and managed to spend some quality time with family and friends.

Christmas is a special time of the year, and whilst we are in an industry that is a 24/7 operation, Christmas Day is a time to spend at home, not at work.

However this is somewhat difficult if you are at sea.

2010 was a busy year for Local 13 and I have no doubt that 2011 will be along the same lines.

We are currently negotiating a number of Collective Agreements and have just signed off the Sanford’s Electrical Agreement and Wallace Investments (Stevedoring) Agreement along with the Fullers Maintenance Agreement.

This year will be a defining year not only for our Union but the Labour movement in general as we head into the General Election set for 26 November 2011.

The NZCTU and affiliated Unions are planning a National Day of Action to protest the changes the National Government has made to Employment Legislation.

These changes are a direct attack on workers and the Unions that represent them in the workplace.

The changes to Union access and right of entry to the workplace, and the unfettered right for employers to sack workers within the first 90 days of a new job, are just two examples of right wing neoliberal ideology at work.

The 90 Day Bill is a draconian piece of legislation that removes any form of natural justice and is designed to increase profits at the expense of social stability.

There never will be any future for workers under a Government that passes legislation to control workers without recourse.

These changes are just a precursor of things to come if a National Government is re elected to the Treasury benches with a mandate to pursue its agenda for another three years.

The Tories will further deregulate and privatise anything that stands in the way of Free Trade and increased profits.

It would be fair to say that the drivers of these Free Trade Deals have prospered significantly, they have received more than their share of wealth over the last two decades.

www.munz.org.nz

This has been at the expense of the average working family.

The gap between the rich and the poor has grown significantly and the middle class that once a large number of New Zealanders referred themselves as has disappeared.

Organised labour and workers covered by strong industrial legislation redistributes wealth and by nature opposes the new economic reforms that support Free Trade Agreements.

Market rents have pushed the cost of living up, as well as housing costs.

The Kiwi dream of owning your own home becomes a distant memory, something reminisced by workers my age when a house in Auckland could be purchased for two to three years gross wages.

This no longer exists.

The average price for a house in Auckland is now beyond the reach of the average working family in Auckland and, I suggest, throughout New Zealand.

As the demand for rental accommodation increases so must the price of housing increase. The spiralling house values we have experienced since the removal of direct housing subsidies for state housing will continue.

Market rentals for state housing have reduced the disposable income for working families.

The National Government has signalled its intentions by increasing the minimum wage by a tiny 25 cents (2%) per hour while inflation is currently running at 4%.

Yet in its first term this National Government handed out tax cuts that benefited the top earners in New Zealand far more than it benefited low income earners.

A further three years of a National Government will see the “Family Jewels” up for sale again.

State owned enterprises and Local Government assets will come under the auctioneers’ hammer. Our natural resources and the New Zealand logistics chain will be in overseas hands.

Hardly any need for a Free Trade agreement then as we will have nothing to trade.

Our resources must be aimed at defeating the National Government at the polls and secondly, but just as important, voting in a Government that will commit to a fair working wage and support social and industrial legislation that allows organised labour to protect the workers they represent.

I am sick of contracting out, outsourcing, increasing casualisation, as we have had this scenario since the Employment Contracts Act was forced upon us.

The removal of National Awards and the Right to Strike has done nothing to enhance wages and create employment in New Zealand.

In fact, I would argue that the deregulation of the labour market has fostered the growth of casual and part-time employment.

Our industry is over casualised.

Many Waterfront Workers remain as casuals for years simply because a rogue company wins a contract by undercutting the contract price through labour savings e.g. a casual workforce and then this becomes the benchmark for the industry.

Good companies with permanent workers cannot compete and casualisation becomes the norm.

To combat this there has to be a return to National Agreements where an even playing field exists. To attempt to combat casualisation on an individual company basis is folly.

Companies have proven that they cannot be trusted in this area, as the temptation to contract out seems to be too great. I sometimes wonder if individual bonuses and profit performance reviews are the drivers or perhaps it is a genuine belief that workers should be seen and not heard.

MMP has changed the political landscape and it is unlikely that any one Party will have power.

A coalition is the most likely result at the next election and the Labour Party along with the other left leaning Parties must commit to return some of the basic rights that were lost in the early 1990s and our commitment must be to campaign to return them as the next Government.

Our Union must oppose Free Trade deals that threaten our standard of living and our sovereignty.

The first step in cleaning up our own back yard will be to make sure that future Collective Agreements contain the right clauses to protect our work in our Industry.

This will be the focus for Local 13 as we negotiate expired agreements in 2011.

On a lighter note the 2011 Interport Sports Tournament took place in February and I would like to take the opportunity to thank Local 10 for hosting this year’s Tournament. Our Union has maintained a number of the old traditions such as this Tournament, Picnic Day and our Old Timers’ Functions. A number of employers refer to these as just another example of the actions of a Dinosaur Union.

To this we say flattery will get you everywhere.

“An Injury to One is an Injury to All”

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 27

PORT ROUNDUPS

An account of the Doris Disaster, Port of Napier, 28 December 1932 At 11 pm the small Richardson & Co. vessel Tu Atu cleared the Iron Pot for a normal run to Wairoa.

As she slowly moved across to the west side of the channel which gave her deeper water and which was also the ordered course for vessels moving seawards, her look-out, Mr Arne Angen reported to the Master, Captain W. Martin, a white light as approaching the entrance from the roadstead.

This vessel, like the Tu Atu was adhering to orders and was steering a course which would bring her in on the east side of the channel. Capt. Martin was at the wheel of the Tu Atu and Angen remained on lookout.

Angen reported to Capt. Martin the white light had passed across from the Starboard bow to the Port bow of the Tu Atu and was still some distance seawards of the entrance. As it was nearing low water Capt.

Martin reduced speed and proceeded down the channel with extreme caution. It was at this time the white light was recognized as being that of the Harbour launch returning with late workers from the Port Brisbane in the roadstead.

When the two vessels were about 150 yards apart the look-out reported he could see both side lights of the launch which indicated it was approaching the Tu Atu on a collision course.

The Tu Atu being deep in the water, was unable to change direction without going

aground on the rocks on either side of the channel which would have closed the harbour and she may have taken in water and sunk.

As a result of this Capt. Martin keeping strictly to orders, kept his course in the channel. The launch still came ahead. Suddenly the launch lights disappeared from sight under the bows of the Tu Atu, Angen, who had been moving forward again, reached the stem of his vessel to witness the launch slowly rolling over under the bows of his vessel.

The master of the Tu Atu immediately stopped both engines and went astern when the lights of the launch disappeared from his sights.

The launch, which was identified as the Doris, was returning to harbour with 50 waterfront workers heavily clad after working in the freezing chambers of the Port Brisbane.

When news of the disaster reached shore the Harbourmaster ordered the Pilot Launch Ponui to the scene and Richardson & Co. sent their tug Kuri out with the rescue fleet being supplemented by numerous small craft and trawlers.

Despite efforts by craft and shore-line searches, 10 men drowned in the worst marine accident at the Port of Napier.

Those drowned were J. Woods, J.H. Wilson, J.H.E. Medcalf, N. Low, T. Kitt, H. Johnson, E. Cooper, A. Boyd, R.C. Aplin and W. Andrews.

The finding of a Court of Inquiry issued on February 1st 1933, exonerated Captain Martin of the Tu Atu but found the Master of the Doris, Mr Mentzer, seriously at fault and grossly negligent in crossing the bows of an approaching vessel.

The Court cancelled Mentzer’s certificate and Harbour Board License and ordered him to pay £30 towards the cost of the inquiry.

Napier

by Bill Connelly

Around and about Tourist vessels are a constant feature over the summer months, the same as last year.

It has been rumoured that we are going to see some fifty cruise liners visit the port this season, which will please the local business fraternity in both Napier and Hastings.

C3: Formerly Toll Logistics NZ Limited We are currently in negotiations for a new Collective Agreement as their previous Agreement expired on 31 December 2010.

The Company’s tender for the marshalling and stevedoring of Pan Pac Pulp was successful and as a result the two GHE’s, Lou Aranui and Greg Keen are now fulltime employees.

The company has also taken on two long serving casual employees and is now employing them on a fulltime basis. They are David Christiansen and Frank Guerin.

Hawke’s Bay Stevedoring Services Limited Their Agreement expires on 31 July 2011

Kelcold Limited Their agreement expired on 1 December 2010 and we are currently in negotiations for a new agreement.

“Doris Disaster” Memorial at Park Island Cemetery Something for those of you with very long memories, and I refer to our veteran membership when I say this.

I refer of course to the “Doris Disaster”, which occurred on 28 December 1932, in which ten of the Napier Branch members drowned.

The members at the time erected a fitting memorial to their workmates at Park Island Cemetery in Napier.

We have over the years looked after the site and this year, prior to the 78th anniversary gave the memorial a decent facelift and repaint.

Year in Review 2010, as we all know, was supposed to be the year of our coming out of the recession, but if we have then it certainly has not shown in our members pay packets.

Although the Port Companies around the country seem to be doing alright, judging from their distribution of profits to their respective shareholders.

The Port of Napier paid the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council another substantial dividend of $6.39 million for the 2010 The renovated Doris memorial (photo by Bill Connelly) 28 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

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PORT ROUNDUPS calendar year, although we are not seeing any reduction in our local rates.

Undoubtedly it is the same around the rest of the country.

The two stevedoring companies operating in the port, Hawke’s Bay Stevedoring Services and C3 have found the going tough this year.

We used the “Strategic Alliance” we have with the RMTU for the first time last year to ensure that we achieved an acceptable result for the tender process of the Pan Pac Pulp Contract.

For those of you who are unaware ISO did put in a tender price and had they got the contract then there would have been the distinct possibility we could have seen a repeat of the December 2007 Picket at Napier.

Fortunately sanity prevailed and our members have retained the work.

Not a very auspicious year for some, but we look forward to 2011 with the hope that the global situation will improve and the recession will become a thing of the past and hopefully part of our history.

The Officers, Executive and members of the Napier Branch hope all members and their families, throughout the country, had a great Christmas break and wish you all the best for 2011.

Port Chalmers Dunedin

by Phil Adams Greetings from the deep south.

We are experiencing a very busy time at the moment not only in the Terminal, but also with Port Chalmers Cargo Services who are very busy on logs, fish, fertilizer and the large components for the wind farms that have arrived in the port.

Port Chalmers Cargo Services collective agreement expired last May and are now in negotiations, involving the recruitment of a B register who would be on guaranteed hours over a month.

The remits put in by the lads are sensible and obviously the money side of things is important given the agreement expired nearly a year ago.

The Terminal has also taken on 2 B’s and we welcome Richard Hill to our ranks, and hope you enjoy your time with us.

With the terminal being extremely busy, more cargo handlers are expected to be recruited in the near future.

Congratulations to the 4 lashers who have moved through to full cargo handlers and will be trained in all aspects of cargo handling.

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Drug and alcohol policy Recently we have had a number of failed tests after minor accidents in the Terminal.

Pressure from the company to allow random testing is putting pressure on us to have this discussed at our May 2011 national executive meeting.

We have been the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and none of us wishes to know that an injury or accident could have been avoided if random testing were in place.

Obviously acceptance of random testing would have to be accepted nationally and we believe Wellington is having the same pressure put on them for similar reasons.

Much debate will take place before acceptance of any change and an amnesty period would have to be put in place.

Our national officials are taking this very seriously as we have a moral obligation to make sure we have a drug free environment.

As I have stated before the company must recognize fatigue as a major problem in our industry and address that as well.

1951 Walter Meehan and Gordon (Buck) Forgie, the last of our local 1951 men in port, are recovering from illness at the moment.

We wish them a speedy recovery and as this is the 60th anniversary of the Big Blue, having these two with us reminds us of what they and their generation went through to establish the wages and conditions of today. For that we thank you.

Sea Glory and Sky Jupiter Recently we have had incidents on these two ships. They are in poor condition and the vigilance of our members must be commended.

The membership walked off the Sea Glory after finding serious rust issues and major problems with the gear, this after it had just passed a survey.

The vessel was laid up for a week in Dunedin while repairs were done to it.

The Sky Jupiter was a combined effort by MUNZ and the MUA. We believe this vessel will not be seen on the New Zealand and Australian coasts again.

Members need to remain vigilant and not put up with poor safety standards.

Queenstown Unit The Queenstown Unit is available for MUNZ members on the following dates: May 8–15th May 15–22nd May 22nd–29th May 29th–June 5th June 5th–12th July 26th–August 3rd August 28th–September 4th September 4th–11th

New Zealand Not For Sale Tour The November 26 election is one of the most important in decades.

Both major parties are committed to policies by which the New Zealand economy is even more dominated by transnational corporations; more and more of our farmland is owned by foreigners; publicly-owned assets are privatised; and the country is locked ever more tightly into disadvantageous “free” trade and foreign investment agreements, of which the biggest one being negotiated, in secret, is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – this is the means to effect a free trade agreement with the US. There are some differences between National and Labour on these issues, but they are only ones of degree, not principle.

A change in government will not, in itself, be enough to change the disastrous course on which this country is set, one of domination by global Big Business and the US. This country needs People Power to let the world know that New Zealand is not for sale! Murray Horton, spokesperson of the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA), will speak on: • The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the dangers it poses to the NZ economy and to our very democracy.

• Privatisation of our public assets.

• The relentless takeover of NZ businesses and land by transnational corporations.

• The re-absorption ofNew Zealand into the US Empire.

• And, most, importantly, how the New Zealand people can fight back; it’s too important to be left up to the politicians.

CAFCA New Zealand speaking tour April/May 2011 dates www.cafcatour.blogspot.com More info at http://www.nznotforsale.org

The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 29

VIEWPOINT

Asset Sales – Don’t repeat the mistake

By Ray Fife Assistant General Secretary National is now really stepping up to the mark and showing its true blue colours.

National is now polishing the family silver again and eyeing the market.

National has had a secret agenda over state sell offs – Bill English blurted it out to an imposter at a party meeting.

It is a common ploy for many governments to use a “crisis” to drive drastic change though in many cases the crisis is a self created one.

It is no secret that the National Party prefers less public and more private control of our services and industries.

The National Government reduced taxes to the extent that those on the higher incomes benefited by tens of thousands of dollars and the tax income dropped considerably.

Now we are told the Government is running a large deficit and we need to run a quick garage sale of our state assets.

Asset sales have been in the freezer for 10 years but the return of the bad times has breathed new life into the corpse.

Pike River Memorial

by Mike Will 2655 Comrades, it is with deep sadness I write this article.

On 19 November 2010 I, along with the rest of New Zealand, was shocked to hear the news that there had been a explosion at the Pike River Mine in the Papamoa ranges on the West Coast, with 29 of the miners trapped inside.

Patiently we waited and prayed that they were OK, but on 24 November there was news of a second explosion.

This news cut deep into the hearts of all those that had held out hope for these men. I was privileged to attend the remembrance service for the miners on 2 December, with the General Secretary Joe Fleetwood and National Vice President Garry Parsloe.

Other Unions were represented by their own top officials.

Also attending were politicians from various parties including Phil Goff and the Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand.

Over 15,000 members of the public attended this major event to support the families of the miners.

Driving from Christchurch to Greymouth has to be one of the most spectacular drives in this country.

30 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

This is core National thinking given the rationale for the partial privatisation of state owned energy companies – that the country must do all it can to reduce borrowing and debt.

Why should anyone believe that some future “crisis” or other pretext won’t be used to justify unloading the rest of the government’s shares.

John Key says that asset sales will reduce New Zealand’s tottering mountain of debt.

By how much though?

There remains a profound suspicion that partial privatisation under National would be just the stepping stone to the full flog-off, rightly so too going by their past history.

John Key plays his ordinary bloke card.

Mums and dads would get the lion’s share. The state would spread the riches.

It is only those well off mums and dads who will be able to afford the shares, then those mums and dads it seems are unlikely to hang onto the shares for long.

Soon enough much wealthier buyers – the Chinese, the big overseas investors – offer them a price they couldn’t refuse and there is plenty of evidence for this.

Some privatised companies have made disastrous decisions.

Government owned companies, on the other hand, can be efficient as well as profitable. Kiwibank has been a brilliant success and has attracted huge support and given the big Aussie owned banks a run for their money.

The government is saying that lessons have been learnt, the same mistakes will not be made again. If that is the case don’t touch anything.

It’s a big ask expecting New Zealanders – once burned, twice shy – to be reassured by the same theme they’ve heard before.

If these companies are so valuable and attractive – which they are, with valuations adding up to roughly $16 billion, generating strong revenues and already returning solid profits – why forgo full ownership in perpetuity.

Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Going through the Otira Gorge and stopping at Jacksons Pub for a break I talked to some of the locals, one had a nephew that was in the mine. You started getting the feeling of how much of a impact this was having on the Coast community.

Arriving in Greymouth we decided out of respect for the tragedy that had happened to wash our hands as you do when entering an Utu-Pa then drove to the only place that we could find that was not booked out.

The next morning travelling to Greymouth arriving at the Omoto Racecourse for the Remembrance Service for the Miners, we saw every person there wearing yellow ribbons and carrying a Fern Frond as a mark of respect for these brave men.

All families were represented by one family member and tables were set up with photos and mementoes of their loved ones, the mates of the youngest miner had made t-shirts to remember him.

Joseph Dunbar was 17 years old and it was his first day on the job.

The situation was made even more distressing by the fact that the bodies still remain in the Pike River Mine. Prayers were read and the National Anthem was sung in Maori and English.

The local Children did a Haka and poems were read.

The best speech came from the Governor General of New Zealand Sir Anand Satyanand who recognised the Unions from around the world for the support and donations.

I am not sure why Andrew Little, leader of the miners union the EPMU, was not allowed to speak and but his feelings showed in his face and his tears.

It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and a cooling breeze. It was a very moving experience for every person there.

This community is a tightly bonded one but their hospitality was and is something to admire, just such nice people.

You ask a question and it becomes a conversation – they always have time to talk, that makes it even that much harder to comprehend what they are feeling.

There has been some terrible loss of life in the Mining industry, including the Strongman Mine disaster that took 19 Comrades in 1967, and the impact will be felt by our Lyttelton members as Pike River coal is shipped through our Port.

We will never forget this dark day in New Zealand history and may the names of these 29 men live forever in our hearts.

I would like to thank the Lyttelton executive and members for allowing me to represent our Union and our Branch.

To our lost Mining Comrades – you will not be forgotten.

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NOTICES

Veterans’ Corner

Obituaries

by Terry Ryan

The Maritimes has received notice of the passing in February 2011 of two long standing members of the Union: Tommy Gregory of Wellington and Henry (Harry) Arthur Reed of Lyttelton.

Obituaries of both men will be published in the next edition of the Maritimes.

The membership of the MUNZ Veterans’ Association currently stands at 387 and continues to grow in spite of 2010 being a bad year for members passing away.

The Lyttelton Old Timers’ Xmas Function saw an influx of 12 veterans, bringing them up to the second largest representation outside the Auckland area.

As it stands at the moment we will shortly be attempting to set up branches in Wellington where we have 41 veterans, Lyttelton (33 veterans) and Port Chalmers (27 veterans.)

This will allow local meetings to take place and local functions to be arranged.

We will circulate the membership seeking expressions of interest and see where we end up.

One of our veteran members, Anehera Morehu, has been appointed Maori advisor and will sit on various committees of the Auckland Super City structure.

Barry Prescott showed he can still hold his own with the young fellows when he competed in the winning team for the Schooner Salver on Picnic Day. Another member Sam Pene was prominent in the third placed team.

Recent additions to the membership include the following (Auckland unless otherwise stated): Dick Heke, Te Awamutu Syd Hamilton Jim Mitchell, Christchurch Bill Vikers, Christchurch Tom Lipscombe Steve Baker J.A. Bevin, Bluff David Laidlaw, Lyttelton Peter Harris, Great Barrier Island Louis Coleman Roy Hawkins Bill Fountain John Dow, New Plymouth Frank Sparks, Christchurch Des Lyons, Christchurch Phillip Neil, Cambridge Robert Tootell, Hokitika Brian Thompson, Christchurch George Massie, Christchurch Thomas Smith, Lyttelton Dennis McCamish Jim Gibson, Mt Maunganui David Dick, Port Chalmers Leonard Cameron, Ashburton Roland White Raymond Wallace, Christchurch

Thank you to Lindsay Wright who wrote to inform us that Iain John Dow (Bosun), a union member of very long standing passed away in New Plymouth, on Friday 11 February 2011.

A memorial service was held at Pipi Cafe, Ocean View Parade, New Plymouth on 17 February.

Communication can be made through Chaddy’s Charters, Ocean View Parade, New Plymouth or by return email to windypoint@kinect.co.nz.

Telephone 06 758 9133.

If you would like to note the passing of a union member, retired member or friend of the union, contact the Maritimes editor (contact details on page 3.)

Book Reviews Because of the lack of space in the magazine due to our 1951 special and the unexpected Canterbury Earthquake, the Maritimes is unable to include several book reviews that had been prepared for this issue.

They will be featured in the next edition of the Maritimes.

They include Commo Bill by Pauline Leverton O’Reilly, Man for all seasons by David Grant, Spirit of the Coast by Nick Tolerton and No Ordinary Deal edited by Jane Kelsey.

Whangarei Mobile: 021 855121 Fax: 09 459 4972 Address: PO Box 397, Whangarei Email: ben.hathaway@munz.org.nz

Auckland Local 13 Phone: 09 3034 652 Fax: 09 3096 851 Mobile: 021 326 261 (President)

021 760 886 (Secretary) Address: PO Box 1840, Shortland Street,

Auckland 1140 Email: garry.parsloe@munz.org.nz

russell.mayn@munz.org.nz

Mount Maunganui Phone: 07 5755 668 Fax: 07 5759 043 Mobile: 0274 782308 Address: PO Box 5121, Mt. Maunganui Email: eddie.cook@munz.org.nz Gisborne Local 38 Mobile: 025 6499697 Address: 5 Murphy Road, Gisborne Email: dein.ferris@munz.org.nz New Plymouth Mobile: 021 479269 Address: PO Box 659, New Plymouth Email: mark.larkin@munz.org.nz Napier Phone/Fax: 06 8358 622 Mobile: 027 6175441 Address: PO Box 70, Napier Email: bill.connelly@munz.org.nz Wellington Seafarers Phone: 04 3859 288 Fax: 04 3848 766 Mobile: 0274 538222 Address: PO Box 27004, Wellington Email: mike.clark@munz.org.nz Wellington Waterfront Phone: 04 8017 619 Fax: 04 3848 766 Mobile: 021 606379 Address: PO Box 2773, Wellington Email: john.whiting@munz.org.nz Wellington Stores and Warehouse Local 21 Phone: 04 3859 520 Fax: 04 3848 766 Address: PO Box 27004, Wellington Nelson Fax: Mobile: Address: Email:

03 5472104 027 6222691 PO Box 5016, Nelson ken.knox@munz.org.nz

Lyttelton Local 43 Phone: 03 3288 306 Fax: 03 3288 798 Mobile: 0274 329620 Address: PO Box 29, Lyttelton Email: les.wells@munz.org.nz

Timaru Phone/Fax: 03 6843 364 Mobile: 021 2991091 Address: PO Box 813, Timaru Email: tony.townshend@munz.org.nz

Port Chalmers Dunedin Local 10 Phone: 03 4728 052 Fax: 03 4727 492 Mobile: 0274 377601 Address: PO Box 44, Port Chalmers Email: phil.adams@munz.org.nz Bluff Phone/Fax: 03 2128 189 Mobile: 027 4475317 Address: PO Box 5, Bluff Email: ray.fife@munz.org.nz

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The Maritimes | Autumn 2011 | 31

YOUTH

32 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011

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