Ports of Auckland shake up unveiled, 30 jobs to go

Ports of Auckland Bledisloe Wharf. Photo/Brett Phibbs

Council-owned Ports of Auckland is cutting 30 jobs as part of a reorganisation of its container terminals.

The port, which suffered a 7.4 per cent fall in container volumes in the March quarter compared to a year ago, decided against the option of a nine-day fortnight, an idea which came out of the Government's Job Summit.

Ports of Auckland handles more containers than any other port through two terminals, Bledisloe and Fergusson, which are adjacent to each other at the Parnell end of the Auckland waterfront.

Under the proposal, 51 staff based at Bledisloe will be made redundant and 29 new positions will be created at Fergusson. Eight redundancies in support areas are also proposed. The port employs a total of 500 people.

The port will in future berth most container ships at Fergusson and use Bledisloe for non-containerised, as well as containerised trade.

The port said the plan, which is subject to consultation, will make it more efficient by removing duplication. All stevedoring staff will be based at Fergusson.

The port has decided against out-sourcing stevedoring, even though rivals say that strategy made them less vulnerable to industrial action.

"Running two essentially separate workforces occasionally results in staff at one terminal having no work to do, and work but not enough staff at the other. Such a labour model is not sustainable and does not make sense, particularly in the current economic climate," said managing director Jens Madsen.

Bledisloe will continue to service some regular container ship callers, ships which arrive early or late for slots at Fergusson, and provide capacity at peak periods. Support services currently located at Fergusson will move to Bledisloe.

The port is considering using Bledisloe for vehicle imports and may move bulk liquid tanks there.

The council owner wants to shift tanks from Wynyard Wharf at the western end of the waterfront so the area can be redeveloped with apartments, commercial and recreational use envisaged.

Madsen is hoping that most of the redundancies can be achieved voluntarily.

"We have done everything possible to minimise job losses, including implementing a series of cost reduction measures.

"Of all the options considered, maximising the volumes we handle at Fergusson provides the greatest opportunity for the largest number of full time employees, without in any way compromising customer service levels and productivity," Madsen said.

A final decision on the plan will be made in the week commencing May 11.

Ports of Auckland is wholly owned by the Auckland Regional Holdings, the commercial arm of Auckland Regional Council.

Unsuccessful attempts have been made to merge the port with Port of Tauranga, which owns a large inland freight hub at Southdown in Auckland.

Ports of Auckland is developing a separate inland hub at Wiri.

- NZPA