Mediation talks taking place between the Ports of Auckland and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) to try to avoid further strikes before and during Christmas have so far been unsuccessful.

    Tony Gibson, chief executive at Ports of Auckland, said: “We now anticipate that MUNZ will continue with the 96 hours of strikes they have threatened between now and 1 January.”

    He added that the port would work closely with its customers to try to mitigate the impact of the strikes as much as possible.

    The back biting continues on both sides. Yesterday, MUNZ accused Mr Gibson of passing information to far right wing political bloggers who in turn are boasting in the public domain about being given letters about current negotiations intended for Ports of Auckland employees by Ports of Auckland management.

    On the back of this, MUNZ are calling for Mr Gibson to release all documentation regarding his own salary and perks, and that of all senior management at Ports of Auckland, into the public domain for open discussion.

    Meanwhile, the next strikes are planned for 22 December – 24 hours, 24 December – 24 hours and 30 December – 48 hours. They will coincide with KiwiRail’s planned shutdown for rail works meaning that there will be significant delays for cargo freight.

    There has already been three 24 hour strikes at the port this month – resulting in the sacrifice of Maersk’s Southern Star Service and the potential loss of 40 jobs. The total cost in terms of revenue from the strikes this month  is expected to be around $1,116m.

    No further mediation talks have been planned.

(source:http://www.portstrategy.com/news101)