coastal shipping – Page 10 – Maritime Union of New Zealand

Public Meeting for Port of Timaru – Thursday 17 September 2009

September 11, 2009

The Maritime Union of New Zealand is hosting a public meeting on the future of the Port of Timaru. The meeting will be held at “Robbies” (Hibernian Hotel), Latter Street, Timaru on Thursday 17 September starting at 7.30pm sharp.

All concerned local people are invited to the meeting, including port workers, unions, business, industry, farmers, and all those concerned with the future of the port.

For more information see the Port of Timaru campaign website.

Where does Minister of Transport Steven Joyce stand in regional ports furore?

September 3, 2009

The Maritime Union is asking where the Government and the Minister of Transport stands on the future of regional ports after Fonterra announced it was withdrawing from some regional ports in favour of transporting goods by long distance rail last month.

Jobs are under threat, casualization is hitting workers hard, and the viability of regional ports is under a cloud after the decision, which has created intense debate in the regions and the transport industry.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the union’s national executive met with a Fonterra representative earlier this week.

Government can put New Zealanders in containers, but it can’t give them jobs shipping them

August 27, 2009

The Maritime Union has a message for the Government: instead of jailing New Zealanders in containers, it would be better to have them working on the containers by rebuilding coastal shipping.

Corrections Minister Judith Collins announced today a “container unit” will be set up at Rimutaka Prison to house surging numbers of prisoners, the latest embarrassing step in New Zealand’s failure to confront the real issues behind crime.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says New Zealand workers have been forced out of maritime employment in their own country by allowing overseas labour to be exploited on the New Zealand coastal waters.

He says that due to the “open coast” policy introduced by National in the 1990s New Zealand had seen its shipping industry taken apart, while many other countries reserved their domestic merchant shipping and fisheries for local industry.

Maritime Union highlights negative effects of Fonterra port pull out

August 21, 2009

The Maritime Union says regional ports have been hit hard because of a decision by Fonterra to rail goods to distant ports.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the moves have already led to notices of major redundancies in the port of Timaru, greater casualization of the workforce, and was threatening the viability of some ports.

“This issue cannot be dealt with by ports continuing to compete each other into the ground. It must be addressed by national co-ordination of our transport system, not the wasteful, insecure and chaotic mess we have at the moment.”

Inquiry into fishing industry needed

August 5, 2009

The Maritime Union says information revealed in a New Zealand documentary on the fishing industry must be followed up by a Government inquiry.

The documentary The Great New Zealand Fishing Scandal by investigative journalist Guy Henderson screened on Sky last night and today, and covered developments in the industry since the 1990s.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the documentary was accurate and he believes there is much more to be uncovered.

A grim Christmas for foreign fishing crews

December 14, 2005

The Maritime Union says the arrest of shipjumpers in Nelson is not solving the cause of the problem.
Six Vietnamese shipjumpers were arrested on Tuesday night in Nelson.
Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says action is needed to ensure that crew members are being employed under decent conditions.
“This Christmas, there will be overseas crews working in New Zealand waters in dangerous conditions, for low pay, suffering abuse and exploitation, while we turn a blind eye because it is making a fat profit for someone.”

Maritime Union says it’s time to connect the dots on Flag of Convenience fishing

March 6, 2006

The Maritime Union has welcomed New Zealand signing up to an international crackdown on illegal fishing – which also provides a clear opportunity to solve the abuse and exploitation of maritime workers.

Fisheries ministers from Australia, Britain, Canada, Chile, Namibia and New Zealand have agreed to a plan which will mean global tracking of fishing vessels, as well as an online database of their names, location and history, to help uncover illegal fishing.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the plan means that “half of the problem” is being seriously addressed.

Last Kiwi crew on trans-Tasman vessel stage shipboard protest

November 4, 2006

Members of the Maritime Union are staging a protest today on board a vessel at the Ports of Auckland.

Maritime Union Auckland Seafarers Branch Secretary Garry Parsloe says the crew members started their protest on the trans-Tasman freighter Rotoiti at the Ports of Auckland Bledisloe Terminal at 7am this morning Saturday 4 November 2006.

He says the crew are drawing attention to the fact that when the Rotoiti is withdrawn from service on 26 November, it will be the end of the last New Zealand crewed ship working on the trans-Tasman trade.