June 20, 2025

Maritime Union of New Zealand

Representing New Zealand maritime workers since 2002

Maritime Union criticizes Myanmar connection in free trade deal

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says a free trade deal signed with ASEAN nations including the military dictatorship of Myanmar is bad for workers.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says a free trade deal including Myanmar will boost the violently anti-worker regime in Myanmar and threatened workers rights.

He says the Maritime Union has many concerns about the treatment of Burmese maritime workers, some of whom work in New Zealand waters, and who have been mistreated and abused in the past.

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Action on casual workers welcomed

The Maritime Union has welcomed a Government announcement that it intends to improve protections for casual workers.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the Union has been arguing since 1991 that the practice of employing casual labour on the waterfront is degrading and unfair.

“It is similar to the situation of a century ago when workers lined up for work at the port gate, and many were victimized or refused work.”

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Temporary workers plan a recipe for disaster

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has attacked plans by employers to bring in migrant labour into the seafood industry after mass layoffs in the same sector.

A week after Sealord confirmed it would axe 323 jobs from its Nelson mussel factory, two South Island seafood companies Talleys and Aotearoa Seafood have applied to import 100 migrant labourers.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says that the use of temporary labour being imported from overseas threatens local employment.

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Maritime Union backs public ownership plan for rail and ferries

The Maritime Union says Government plans to bring rail and ferries back under public ownership would be a major step forward for New Zealand.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the move is long overdue and is required to bring New Zealand’s transport infrastructure up to world standards.

“We need an integrated transport system in New Zealand that has a substantial public-owned component for security and stability.”

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Shipping plan gets thumbs up

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says the release today of the final domestic shipping strategy “Sea Change” is a positive move for New Zealand shipping.

Maritime Union Vice President Garry Parsloe says the Government’s plans for coastal shipping are moving in the right direction.

He says $36 million of funding for developing coastal shipping over the next four years was a major boost.

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Rail buyback on the right track

The Maritime Union says the buyback of rail and ferries is a good step towards rebuilding a top quality transport system in New Zealand.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the move is positive for New Zealand, and should have been done a long time ago.

“The only regret is that we have now had a generation where this vital part of our infrastructure has been first asset stripped then unsuccessfully operated by global corporations interested in shareholder profit, not for what is good for New Zealand.”

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Maritime Union supports major port stoppages in USA and Iraq against war

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has congratulated maritime workers in USA and in Iraq for work stoppages on May Day (1 May) against the Iraq War.

More than 25,000 longshore workers at 29 west coast ports in the USA called an end to the war in Iraq on May 1 by staying at home. The workers were members of the ILWU, the waterfront union on the west coast of the USA, which has strong links to the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

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