“Time to lance the boil” in fishing industry shame
The announcement of a ministerial inquiry into foreign fishing charter vessels in New Zealand waters is long overdue.
Read MoreRepresenting New Zealand maritime workers since 2002
The announcement of a ministerial inquiry into foreign fishing charter vessels in New Zealand waters is long overdue.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThe Maritime Union of New Zealand has warned against the takeover of New Zealand ports after shipping giant COSCO announced its interest in buying into New Zealand ports this week.
The Chinese state owned multinational corporation COSCO is one of the world’s largest shipping lines.
Maritime Union spokesperson Victor Billot says the Union is opposed to handing control of ports over to global operators.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreMaritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the Union will resist any attempt to undermine wages and conditions through short term casual workers imported under free trade deals.
He says that comments by Trade Minister Phil Goff on the China free trade deal are disturbing for workers and not in line with the Labour Government’s commitment to a high skill, high wage economy.
There will be no incentive for training or paying for skills if businesses are able to step outside the national labour market and pull in trained staff on the minimum wage, says Mr Hanson.
Read MoreThe Maritime Union says the new rules to improve wages and conditions for overseas fishing crews announced today are good news for workers.
Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the announcement means the industry will be brought into line with the rest of New Zealand business.
“Despite a co-ordinated campaign by special interests in the industry, the Government has made the right decision and the principled decision.”
Read MoreThe Maritime Union says the free trade deal with China is the biggest threat to workers in New Zealand since the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act in 1991.
Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the importation of short-term, casualized skilled labour being paid the minimum wage will be a disaster.
“This is obviously going to have a major and negative effect on wages and conditions in New Zealand.”
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