The tension in the port of Auckland for the lay-off of 320 workers grows



The tension in the port of Auckland is aggravated after last week the harbour authority Ports of Auckland Ltd. (POAL) has fired 320 dependent, resolution of the employment contract that is considered by the union Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ illegal) that it has asked a pronunciamento with respect to the Court for the job. To cancel these places of work while they are in existence negotiations for the contract - has explained the national president of MUNZ, Garry Parsloe - it is against the law.

To clear the minds it has not certainly contributed to the announced decision friday from the Ports of Auckland to entrust to harbour workers unionizeds in response to the strike which proclaimed from the MUNZ in order not to protest against the lay-offs. The POAL has in fact undersigned contracted with the societies of interim job Drake New Zealand and AWF Group in order to obtain staff to employ in the container Fergusson terminal Container Terminal and Bledisloe Wharf.

The decision to cancel the places of work has provoked also the protest of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF): the president of the trade-union federation, Paddy Crumlin, has emphasized that if the lay-offs will not be revoked Auckland will become a "port of convenience", that is a famous harbour port of call for the disastrous conditions of job. This - it has found Crumlin - can potentially have concrete consequences on the way with which the harbour workers of all the world they will react to the goods coming from Auckland and can have consequences between the marine ones, between the companies of navigation that they look for ports where can find and cooperatives efficient activity of cargo and drainage, and also between the New Zealand customers of the goods, included the supermarkets that have embraced commercial the ethical standards in theirs supply chains, included the ports.

The situation is being made gradually more incandescent and this morning the Ports of Auckland is rerun to the participation of the police. The society has asserted to have allertato the police with the objective protect the dependent, the haulers and the visitors that enter in port and that they are stopped by the union members of the MUNZ that this morning have formed stakes to cross harbour. From the dependent - it has accused the POAL - numerous denunciations have reached about the modalities with which they are forced to stop itself to crosses, where - it has asserted the society - have been objects of insults, the plates of their motors vehicle are photographed and where the car of a dependent is damaged. The Ports of Auckland has exhorted the union to assume the control of stakes in order to do so as that the protest activity is lead in lawful way, to the aim to safeguard the safety of which they have the right to approach the port and to work.