Strikes are set for Lyttelton Port with workers voting unanimously in favour of industrial action.
Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) organiser John Kerr says the port company has ignored employer safety concerns and demands for compensation around roster changes.
The industrial action will include an overtime ban and full stoppages from March 3.
“We’ve been in collective bargaining since July last year – we’ve met 21 times.
“The sticking points are safety and pay.
“Management wants to change people’s hours of work so the port can operate 24/7.
“We have no problem with that, as long as it’s done safely, and people are compensated for those hours,” Kerr says.
A joint working group, including experts from Massey University, has been created to report on how the extended work hours and roster changes can be implemented safety.
“Fatigue can be a killer when people are working around the clock, in all weather conditions, and operating heavy machinery.
“Until we get the recommendations from the working group, it’s premature and risky to change the rosters,” Kerr says.
Workers are also demanding better compensation for the new work shifts.
“These changes will impact people’s ability to spend time with their families and earn a decent living.
“Meanwhile, LPC’s chief executive was paid $955,000 last year.
“There’s a serious imbalance in the way senior managers are rewarded compared to the people on the front line,” he says.
LPC chief executive Peter Davie says the working group is “proactively discussing issues that can be associated with fatigue” to ensure the safety of staff.
“Our focus on safety underpins everything we do. We want all staff to go home safe,” he says.
Davie says LPC is making a “generous offer” of annual salary increases of at least 3% to RMTU members.
“That is almost double the current rate of inflation. They are asking for salary increases up to 15.45% for some of their members.
“These jobs in the port are all well paid.
“We are a fair and reasonable employer but such salary demands by RMTU are unreasonable.
“These demands come on top of the substantial salary increases we have given their members over the last three years.
“The 187 employees who make up 40% of the LPC container terminal staff covered by these negotiations received total wage increases of 7.5% during that time,” Davie says.
Around 60% of LPC staff belong to the separate Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) which reached an agreement last year with operators over roster changes and pay.
“We are keen to see these arrangements also adopted by the RMTU …
“We have agreed with the RMTU a roster for these staff which we both find acceptable but we reject their unrealistic wage demand.
“We were very disappointed to hear of the planned industrial action, as negotiations until now have progressed constructively.
“We would expect that the next step will be mediation and we remain hopeful that we can continue to make progress and reach agreement,” Davie says.
