November 15, 2025

Maritime Union of New Zealand

Representing New Zealand maritime workers since 2002

OECD report pushes discredited anti-worker ideology

The Maritime Union says a just released OECD report on the New Zealand economy is a politically driven document with a right-wing, anti-working class agenda.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Trevor Hanson says some of the “market oriented reforms” proposed by the OECD report had been so discredited by the recent economic crisis and past history that it was a surprise anyone could suggest them with a straight face.

“How dare the authors of this report come out and preach policies that end in casualized jobs, long hours, shift work and low wages for New Zealand workers?”

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Nat’s transport funding plan puts New Zealand into reverse gear

The Maritime Union says the Government’s transport funding plan is an environmental and economic travesty.

The National Government has changed spending commitments of the previous Government and and released a statement on money it will put into developing land transport (including sea transport) for the next ten years.

The new plan includes a three year commitment to spending over seven billion dollars on road related expenditure – and even includes $51 million for cycling and walkways.

In comparison, it puts forward $1 million for “rail and sea freight” and $3 million for “domestic sea freight development.” (Yes – the figure is million not billion.)

That’s about one cent on rail and sea freight development for every twenty dollars on roads.

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Holiday cash up plan “dishonest and ludicrous”

The Maritime Union has savaged a Government plan to reduce holidays for New Zealand workers by permitting “cash ups” of the fourth week of annual leave.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Trevor Hanson says that the plan will effectively force ordinary workers to give up a weeks holiday while permitting well-paid executives and managers to spend more time at the beach.

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Maritime Union wants answers on Indonesian shipjumpers

The Maritime Union of New Zealand and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) are investigating a shipjumping incident in Dunedin where nine Indonesian seafarers left the fishing trawler Marinui on Friday 10 March.

ITF New Zealand co-ordinator Kathy Whelan says the Union has been in touch with the Ministry of Immigration about the case, and ITF representatives will try to speak to the fishermen at Auckland Airport before they are sent home tomorrow.

She says she is extremely concerned about the increasing numbers of foreign seafarers leaving their vessels in New Zealand ports, in this case claiming they were subjected to 24 hour shifts with no breaks, two hour sleep breaks, and physical abuse.

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Ports of Auckland must remain in public hands

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says that any proposal to privatize the Ports of Auckland would create a “perfect storm of opposition.”

Maritime Union Local 13 President Denis Carlisle says those pushing the plan were people out of time.

“There is obviously a faction out there who want to bring back port privatization plans from the dead.”

Mr Carlisle says that the privatization strategy with the Ports of Auckland failed in the 1990s due to mass public opposition and recent attempts to part-privatize the Ports of Lyttelton had also ended in failure.

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Roading the wrong focus for New Zealand infrastructure

New Zealand’s two leading transport unions say that pouring public money only into roading and ignoring other transport infrastructure is a mistake.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand, representing seafarers and waterfront workers,and the Rail and Maritime Transport Union, representing rail and port workers, are concerned that economic stimulus plans focus transport investment exclusively on roading.

The transport unions say that while the Government is correct in investing in infrastructure as a stimulus for the economy, it’s sole focus on investing in roads is wrong.

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