Ships bypass Napier as port picketed

BERNARD CARPINTER/The Dominion Post

JOBS ON THE LINE: Pickets at the Port of Napier protest against a contract change.

Relevant offers

Container ships are avoiding the Port of Napier because of an industrial dispute over stevedoring.

One ship stood out at sea yesterday, hoping for a resolution to the dispute, and two others had earlier bypassed Napier and taken their cargoes to other ports.

Port chief executive Garth Cowie said the cost to the port would be "quite significant, over $10,000 per ship".

"And it's not just that - it's also loss of wages for our staff," he said.

Pickets stood at both entrances to the port, protesting against the management's decision to switch the container stevedoring contract from Hawke's Bay Stevedoring Services to International Stevedoring Operations.

The picketers, including some from other North Island ports and from Australia, had been on site since early on Saturday morning. About 25 permanent positions and 60 casual jobs are at stake.

Pickets, members of the Maritime Union, said ISO would offer lower pay and conditions than they had enjoyed at the Hawke's Bay company, which is owned by Auckland's Southern Cross Stevedores.

They would not apply for jobs at ISO.

Maritime Union assistant general secretary Russell Mayn said the port should consider the welfare of stevedores who were losing their jobs at Christmas time.

They also had no redundancy clause in their contract.

"They've been loyal to the port for a long time," he said. Shifting the contract would lead to the replacement of experienced, skilled workers by new ones with less experience.

Many passing motorists yesterday showed support for the picketers by tooting their horns, as did the drivers of some of the trucks entering and leaving the port.

The industrial action also has the backing of the Council of Trade Unions.

Mr Cowie stuck by his position that the port had changed contractors as part of a normal commercial operation, after an open tender process. The workers should take their grievances to their employer, he said, adding that health, safety and training had all been considerations in the awarding of the contract.

- © Fairfax NZ News