Strike set to halt container port

By GEORGINA BOND

Pickets are due to go up at Ports of Auckland's container terminals today, the start of a four-day strike for what workers are calling "benchmark" employment conditions.

About 260 workers were to start striking at 7am after last gasp negotiations between the Maritime Union and the port yesterday failed to reach a resolution.

The parties have been in mediation for five weeks.

Port spokeswoman Bronwen Jones said the strike would cause major disruption as it affected both terminals, collectively the biggest container port in the country.

Four container ship calls have been affected. One 4100-container vessel - the biggest ship that comes to New Zealand - has been diverted to Tauranga. Two other ships have been diverted to Wellington and one has cancelled its Auckland call.

Jones said over a typical four-day period the port could have anywhere between four and seven container ships arriving.

She estimated the cost of the strike would run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Maritime Union's Auckland branch president, Denis Carlisle, said ports employed too many casuals and workers were being kept as casuals for too long. This was despite union analysis showing there was capacity for more full-time jobs.

Carlisle said there was a place for casual workers, but the ratio needed to be in proportion, and he wanted to see a career path through to their full-time employment.

The outcome of the negotiations would have ramifications for ports throughout the country, and that was probably why the union was having difficulty setting the benchmark.

The workers had support from port unions around the world and representatives from other New Zealand ports were expected to join the Aucklanders at some stage during the strike.

Carlisle hoped the strike would not extend to the full four days, but that it would be resolved in talks during the strike. "If not, we'll be back around the table next week," he said.

Jones said the flexibility of a casual workforce was needed because the global shipping trend was for bigger ships to call at fewer ports, and for them to be unloaded as soon as they arrived. This had created bigger peaks and troughs in port activity.

In the last year, casual workers at the Ports of Auckland represented about 10 per cent of its total workforce.

The employment agreement allowed for up to 25 per cent.

Jones said the port was not looking to increase its casual workforce.

The Port of Onehunga is not affected by the action.