Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Lyttelton Port Strike Starts Midnight

RMTU Refuses Parity with Other Lyttelton Port Union - Strike Starts Midnight

Lyttelton Port Company’s offer of parity with the other major Union at the Port has been refused by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) which will begin striking at midnight tonight. RMTU is striking from 21 to 25 March inclusive.

LPC’s Operations Manager, Paul Monk, says RMTU does not want parity with the other major Union at the Port, the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) - it wants an unfair advantage over it.

“RMTU members want the same salary increase their MUNZ colleagues received but without making the roster changes MUNZ accepted a year ago.

“RMTU claims there’s a safety issue associated with the new roster agreed to by their MUNZ colleagues.

“MUNZ members have had no safety issues since they took it on. MUNZ is fine with it.

“The RMTU wants the same money as MUNZ but they don’t want to work the new roster - they don’t want to do equal work.

“We want to stop the enormous disruption the RMTU strikes will have on shipping lines, importers and exporters. For this reason, we have dropped our request for them to make any roster changes. We have offered them a salary rise of 3% a year each year for three years, with no changes to their roster or the way they work.

“We have made a generous offer to what is a well paid workforce which already receives well above the average Kiwi’s wage.

“That offer is just 1% less than their MUNZ colleagues received. RMTU is hanging out for that extra 1%. They want the extra money without agreeing to the rosters changes MUNZ made. This is not parity.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“When the strikes begin at midnight tonight our container wharves will be empty. The wharves will remain empty right through to the end of Saturday. Shipping is the lifeblood of our region’s trade. Lyttelton Port manages over half the South Island’s container volume. The RMTU strikes will stop the Port’s heart beat.

“We are committed to resolving the dispute and we remain prepared to reaching a settlement with the RMTU but we are faced with a Union that will not budge on any of its demands.”

-End-


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On National’s Fantasy Trip To La La Landlord Land


How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is:
(A) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was touting to voters last year has now blown out to $2.9 billion. (That’s a 38% size error in the calculations.)
(B) unable to provide assurance that this handout won’t simply be pocketed by landlords
(C) unable to explain why Treasury (in research as recent as August 2023) wasn’t citing the loss of interest deductibility as a prime factor driving up rents.
More than anything, the Great Landlords Handout undermines the government’s alarmist talk about the state of the country’s books...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.