Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) expects parts of the Port will continue to operate during the one day strike by Rail and Maritime Transport Union workers, planned for February 11.
Around 200 RMTU members have been operating an overtime ban since December 17 and yesterday they endorsed a series of full withdrawals of labour at the port.
“Our members have voted to escalate their campaign for a just and fair collective agreement and this afternoon, and we have issued notice of the first full 24 hour withdrawal of labour from midday on 11 February,” says RMTU general secretary Wayne Butson.
“The two major sticking points are pay and coverage. LPC are offering the equivalent of a less than 2% annual pay increase and are rejecting the inclusion of port workers in the Woolston inland port from the agreement,” says Butson.
LPC chief executive Peter Davie says some parts of the port will remain open during the strike.
“We will definitely be providing some services during the strike,” Davie says. “We now need to assess what may not be operational that day.”
“We need time to make a thorough and accurate assessment and inform our customers of the services we can still provide.”
He says the majority of staff are on settled contracts and will continue to work.
“Although we are making preparations to deal with the strike, we are committed to resolving the industrial dispute quickly,” he says. “We hope RMTU members will reconsider LPC’s offer of a 3% remuneration increase over 18 months, backdated to last September.
“This offer is considerably in excess of inflation (0.8%) and represents a significant, real wage increase.”
