The Port of Tauranga expects to be busy over the weekend, but the port won't be accepting additional ships from the latest strike by Auckland container terminal workers.

Port of Tauranga. File.

Cargo capacity on the Tauranga/Auckland rail link is under pressure from a combination of additional containers from the Maersk Southern Star service that is now Tauranga based, and rail line closures affecting the main trunk into Auckland, says Port of Tauranga commercial manager Graeme Marshall.

'That pretty much puts us at a level that we are comfortable with, and we are not in a position to provide any other assistance at the moment,” says Graeme.

KiwiRail is doing major electrification works on the Auckland commuter network, and it will affect the main trunk line. There is a rail closure from December 26 till January 4.

'We have contingencies in place to road-bridge,” says Graeme.

'We will be running shuttle trains up to Hamilton, and then road-bridging from there.

'But we are not in a position to accept any ships out of Auckland as a result of the strike, because of the limits on dealing with import cargo into the Auckland market during that period. That put's us through till about January 16, after which we expect it will be business as usual.”

Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson says five ships will be affected by the latest round of strike action which begins today.

Ports of Auckland staff, management, supervisors and staff on individual employment contracts will keep the Ferguson container terminal open while the Maritime Union members are on strike.

Trucks will be able to pick up and drop off containers between 7am and 6pm on Friday, December 23.

'We're going the extra mile to keep the trucks running,” says Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson.

'Given KiwiRail's planned network shutdown for electrification works, we felt it was particularly important to keep the Fergusson truck gate open.

'We have had a very positive reaction from trucking companies, exporters and importers to the decision to stay open.

'We're also keeping Friday 23 December as a demurrage free day, which should provide some relief to hard-pressed local businesses.”

Keeping the terminal open with non-union labour is a new step for the company.

In previous strikes during the current dispute, all road services were closed.

The company facing a revenue loss of $500,000, says Tony.

The value of the trade disrupted by the stoppage is $260m.

Ports of Auckland wants to be more like Tauranga and says in a briefing note that POAL labour utilisation levels are 65 per cent compared with 80 per cent at the Port of Tauranga. Productivity at POAL is about 20 per cent lower than at Port of Tauranga.

Four strike notices have been issued since Ports of Auckland Ltd began negotiating a new collective agreement with the Maritime Union of New Zealand on August 5.

The dispute has intensified since December 1 when POAL trespassed a union official for allegedly inciting union members to use force to prevent non-union members coming to work during a strike.

Maersk pulled its Southern Star shipping service from the port on December 6 as a result of the industrial action.

POAL says the loss of the major customer means 40 union member's jobs could also be lost. Among the contingency options being considered is the contracting out of all labour, if an agreement with the union cannot be reached.

The loss of the Maersk service resulted in the port company withdrawing the earlier offer to roll over the expired collective agreement.

The POAL's ninth offer includes a 10 per cent pay rise and performance bonuses of 20 per cent on top of the hourly rates, in return for full flexibility.

Existing benefits and entitlements, including superannuation contributions, medical insurance and leave provisions are retained and employees can plan their rosters a month in advance.

The offer is based on the existing individual employment contracts.

About a dozen stevedores are on individual contracts about 300 are in the union.

The union responded to the ninth offer with a fourth strike notice, in addition to the one planned for December 22-25.

The union has given notice of strike action over 48 hours from December 30 to January 1.