Local Board Members call for Auckland Council Governing Body
to act on Ports Lockout
Thirty two Auckland Council Local Board members* today banded
together to call for immediate action from their colleagues on the Governing
Body of Auckland Council in the wake of the lock-out of workers at the Ports of
Auckland.
“This is an extraordinary situation and it is now clear that
the Ports of Auckland management and Board are out of control and exposing the
Auckland economy to enormous risk”, say the Board Members.
“On Wednesday the Court ordered a return to good faith
bargaining and a halt to out-sourcing by the company. Yet on Thursday POAL
insisted that they will still proceed with out-sourcing, and locked out the
entire workforce. It is our belief that they do not actually want bargaining to
succeed and that good faith and the Local Governmant Act requirement to be a
'good employer' is being seriously breached by a Council owned company”
“Workers would also appear to be locked out prior to the
legally allowable two week notice period. This means that POAL may be locking
out in direct breach of the law. For Auckland’s port to be held back from being
fully worked because of a possibly illegal action by the company is completely
unacceptable”
“The situation has now spiralled completely out of control.
The court provided an opportunity for a reasonable good-faith settlement to be
reached, but POAL has intransigently chosen to go down the route of
conflict”
“The matter can no longer be considered operational. It is a
strategic crisis affecting all of Auckland, and our political leaders have a
right and a responsibility to act. With at least $12.7 million in revenue lost
due to the dispute to date, for what appears to be a pre-determined contracting
out strategy, the judgment of POAL management and Board must be questioned. We
call on the Mayor and the Governing Body of Auckland Council to urgently
consider the actions of its company, and to directly question whether they can
continue to support the Boards of ACIL and POAL who have mis-managed the
situation so badly”, conclude the Board members.
Advice from Mike Ingpen Sub-regional Secretary Oceania Public Services International Fax: 644 917 2051
