Four more ships are diverting to Tauranga this weekend to avoid industrial action at the Auckland container terminals.

Ports of Auckland has today withdrawn the lockout notice due to take effect following this Thursday's planned 48 hour strike by the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

Port of Tauranga is benefitting further from the Maritime Union of New Zealand strikes in Auckland with four more ships diverting to it this weekend.

If the strike still goes head, Tony says four ships will be diverted to the Port of Tauranga, losing Ports of Auckland $950,000 in revenue over the 48 hours.

'There will be no opportunity to make up this lost income – the ships have confirmed that they are diverting to Tauranga,” says Tony.

Three ships that would otherwise have been impacted by the lockout will now be able to be serviced in Auckland.

Ports of Auckland hoped to meet with the union for further mediation today, but the union is unable to meet until Friday, the first leg of the strike.

'I challenge the union to withdraw their strike notice,” says Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson.

'Not only does this show a disappointing lack of urgency on the union's part in seeking to resolve what is a very serious situation, it also suggests to us that they are determined to proceed with the strike.”

The port withdrew the lockout in the interest of customers, the community and the wider Auckland business sector, says Tony.

'We have made that decision irrespective of whether the union decides to proceed with another strike.

'I challenge the union to withdraw their strike notice and, in the interests of their members' jobs and the Auckland economy, to make a commitment that they will not issue any further strike notices before Christmas.”

Ports of Auckland will not meet the union while they are on strike, says Tony.

'This industrial action has already cost Ports of Auckland one major shipping service. Further disruption in the lead up to Christmas will only put further services and jobs at Ports of Auckland at risk.”

The strike action set down for the period commencing 10.30pm on Thursday, December 8 and finishing 10.30pm on Saturday, December 10, involves 327 employees out of a total of 580.

Meanwhile, one Auckland stevedore says information being published about their working conditions at the Ports of Auckland is not entirely correct.

Earlier this week SunLive published information that was contained in a Ports of Auckland two page advertisement in the shipping industry publication The Shipping Gazette.

In the notice, Ports of Auckland stated its offer to the 300 union staff, includes rolling over the existing contract with no changes to terms or conditions, a 2.5 per cent pay increase and a $200 signing bonus in lieu of back pay.

The port company also stated the average wage for a full time POAL stevedore for the year ended June 30, 2011, was $91,480.

The average part timer's wage was $65,518.

More than half the stevedores, 53 per cent, earned more than $80,000.

Forty three of them, 28 per cent, earned more than $100,000, with the highest paid stevedore earning $122,000.

In addition, the port company stated employees and their families are provided Southern Cross medical insurance, up to 15 days sick leave each year accruing to 45 days over three years, and two months fully paid in-house training to become a lasher and straddle driver, and further paid training to become a crane driver.

They can qualify without the requirement for a student loan.

The man who's worked at POAL for nearly 18 years, doesn't get paid weekend penal rates.

'We are paid the same rate whether we work Monday or Saturday/Sunday. The only penal rate the company pays is an extra to those that choose to work the ‘graveyard shift' – 11pm to 7am," says says.

'You are only partially correct in the 15 sick days a year, accruing to 45 days over three years.

'We in fact get five full days a year which don't accrue, and 10 half days that do.

'We also have to apply for the sick day off once we return to work, and it is then up to the company's discretion as to whether or not we will be paid.”

Last year he worked on average 48 hours a week for just under $75,000.

'Those earning your average $90,000 would have to have worked a lot more than that to achieve that sort of pay.

'The majority of those guys would be working up to six graveyard shifts each and every week.

'While I'll admit that the money we earn can be at the high end, we still have to forgo a bit to get it.”

Ports of Auckland container terminal workers get one weekend off every three weeks.

On the two weeks that they don't get weekends off, they are able to pick one day off during the week.

Their choice is 99 per cent accepted by the company, but it is not a given, says the stevedore.

'The other day is picked by the company, and while they will try to give us a day either side of our chosen day, so that we can have two consecutive days together, this rarely happens.

'Quite often we are given 24 hours notice that the day has been changed altogether. So it becomes very difficult to be involved in family events or social activities as there is no guarantee that we will be available.”

Over the past four to six months, Ports of Auckland stevedores have all achieved monthly productivity bonuses for meeting productivity targets set by Ports of Auckland.

'So we are not sitting back and being idle.

'It is a great job with some great benefits, but there also sacrifices that we have to make as well.”
Mediation between Ports of Auckland and the Maritime Union was postponed yesterday while the port assimilated the impact of the news that is has lost a major customer. Maersk has shifted a service to Tauranga citing the industrial strife as a factor.

It represents a $20 million pa loss of income for the port.