Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand
New Zealand maritime workers will be rallying in support of Australian workers at Qube Ports on Monday 16 December 2024.
Australian wharfies at Qube are stopping work at ten ports in an International Day of Action to expose Qube Ports’ refusal to take safety, fatigue and work-life balance concerns seriously during bargaining for a new employment agreement covering more than 1000 workers.
Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says New Zealand wharfies will be supporting the Maritime Union of Australia in their struggle, with delegates heading across the Tasman in both directions, an international video link, and protest events to be held in two New Zealand ports.
TAURANGA informational picket Monday 16 December (1pm–3pm)
Hull Road, Mt. Maunganui (Port gates)
GISBORNE informational picket Monday 16 December (Morning)
Corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Hirini Street
Maritime Union of Australia delegates and MUNZ officials will be attending these pickets and available to talk to media.
Mr Findlay says Qube management need to be aware their actions in Australia will have consequences for their brand and credibility internationally unless they change their attitude towards their workforce.
He says the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) will be “acting as one.”
Qube Ports in Australia is an ASX listed behemoth which has extracted mega-profits in recent years from the productivity delivered by their hard working employees, and has doggedly refused to sit down and negotiate a new agreement with their workforce.
The MUA says Qube has repeatedly dismissed safety and fatigue concerns and declared it unprofitable to operate a business which takes safety seriously.
While wharfies’ pay has gone backwards against inflation, executive bonuses and shareholder dividends have soared. Over the last four years, Qube profits have jumped by 148%.
The MUA has repeatedly called on the company to return to the bargaining table and engage meaningfully with the safety, fatigue and work-life balance concerns that Qube employees are raising.