Tag Archives: Industrial relations

Port workers going on week-long strike – Business – NZ Herald News

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Port workers going on week-long strike – Business – NZ Herald News.

Oh for the love of…

You know what – I have had enough seriously of this industrial relations dispute I really have. Management (Port of Auckland), the Maritime Union and it seems Auckland Council are incapable of doing something to resolve this crisis.

So seems they are going for broke – it is time we ratepayers go and play our ALL OR NOTHING CARD.

Censure (or even rid us of) the Auckland Council Investment Limited Board for their rudderless direction as the Council Controlled Organisation that is meant to be looking after our prime investment – THE PORT OF AUCKLAND (which by now must be a net liability rather than a net asset), sack the entire management board of Port of Auckland unless they outsource the work soon, and get that enquiry going Auckland Council TODAY to see where to shift the port!!!

My patience is out and I think so is the majority of Auckland Ratepayers Auckland Council – your silence will be remembered as deafening come 2013 when the elections are up.

A Letter to Auckland Council

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A Letter in Concerns to Port of Auckland

 

Over the holidays and ever since the Port of Auckland industrial relations dispute blew up last year, I have been running extensive commentary here at VOAKL on POAL.

You can visit the commentary by clicking the Port of Auckland Index at the top of the page for an easy chronologically ordered list of posts by me on POAL.

A three-part mini-series into possible locations for Port of Auckland was posted here at VOAKL with me advocating for relocating the Port to South East Auckland. Through out the POAL saga I have been calling on Auckland Council to hold a formal enquiry into five questions that need answering in order to nurse our sickly port back to health. Now I have drawn up a formal letter to each individual Auckland Councillor as well as the CEO of Auckland Council and the Mayor of Auckland – Len Brown. These individual letters will be sent out over the course of next week after Anniversary Weekend – but in the mean time I have a master copy here embedded below. The letter outlines five questions others and myself would like answered in the POAL saga.

Furthermore as I have been called up to be at the Draft City Centre Master Plan Hearing Panel and hopefully for the Draft Waterfront Plan later on – I will continue to hammer the point home for the enquiry and options for Port of Auckland. Councillors Wood and Brewer – consider this a heads up.

I will leave you to read the letter as I head back into running The Draft Auckland Plan Series – especially as Auckland Council begins its deliberations and finalisations of The Auckland Plan.

 

POAL and Union have their Collective Moment

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They say at moments like these you need Mintees

Well right now after I post this third moment of the day I am going to need a stiff Scotch on the Rocks.

Just in from the six-hour mediation talks between Port of Auckland management and the Maritime Union in a hope to break the industrial relations impasse.

Hope being the operative word here.

And so the talks fail again and back to square one EVERYONE GOES – thank you POAL and MUNZ for your Collective “Moment”

Port of Auckland Letter

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http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/01/ports-confirms-salary-figures-of-wharfies/

Port of Auckland via their Senior Communications Advisor have posted a letter at the left leaning blog The Standard which was picked up at Whale Oil. When I get home I will embed the link so for the moment its a copy paste job – I apologise.

While I have mainly stayed out of the industrial relations dispute between POAL and MUNZ, and focused on ‘The Port and The Draft Auckland Plan’ a.k.a The Enquiry, I thought it would be an idea to make mention of the letter spelling out workers average conditions at POAL to help gain a perspective from the POAL side.

Again as this is an IR issue – I here at VOAKL have no opinion of the matter at hand rather than “watch what and who you accuse and defame.”

 

 

English: Ports of Auckland container facilitie...

Image via Wikipedia

 

Is Auckland Council to Blame for Port of Auckland labour strife?

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Expert says Auckland Council are to blame for the POAL saga?

 

According to the New Zealand Herald article by Bernard Orsman, the current industrial relations saga at Port of Auckland is directly influenced by Auckland Council‘s “mandate” that the 100% Council owned port increase its Return on Investment from 6% to 12% thus increasing its dividend.

POAL therefore already having to adapt to the ever-changing world economic environments, also now needs to accommodate what could be seen as an excessive demand from Auckland Council to get the RoI up into double figures.

Again and I repeat, Auckland Council needs to hold that enquiry NOW into answering FIVE questions on how to get the best Return of Investment for OUR very sick port. One of the questions includes port ownership model and what kind of public/private mix would be best suited for POAL.
Just as a side note, the enquiry looking at the RoI would also look at best labour practice to help achieve a good economically and socially viable RoI – as buggering your labour (as we are seeing now) is not going to help that Return on Investment.

So a case of telling Auckland Council to either BUCK UP or BACK OFF? I now personally think both – the silence has been broken but now the dithering is hurting us Aucklanders.

Official logo of Auckland Council

Should Auckland Council Buck Up or Back off?