Strike action looms at Lyttelton Port after court win for trade union

Tuesday, 6 March 2018

A court has sided with a union representing workers at Christchurch's Lyttelton Port Company (LPC), paving the way for strike action to begin on Thursday.

LPC applied to the Employment Court for an interim injunction last week, claiming strike notices issued by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) were non-compliant.

The union had issued notice of a three-week overtime ban for some of its members, which would have taken effect last Saturday, followed by notices for full stoppages to take effect Thursday.

The port contended the overlapping nature of the notices had created uncertainty. The union responded by withdrawing the overtime ban, however LPC then sought an injunction to restrain the strike.

**READ MORE:

* Lyttelton Port of Christchurch workers plan 24-hour strike

* 'It will shut the port': 200 Lyttelton Port staff ready to strike

* Lyttelton Port workers unanimously back industrial action**

Judge Bruce Corkill, in a judgment issued Tuesday, said LPC took 'an unduly pedantic approach'. He declined to approve LPC's application, paving the way for the strike to begin Thursday.

RMTU South Island organiser John Kerr said he was pleased with the decision, but 'it places even more responsibility on ourselves and LPC to negotiate ourselves out of this mess'.

Mediation is set down for Wednesday, a day before the union's approximately 200 members at the port walk off the job. So far, notices have been given for 14 consecutive days of strike action.

The port has warned of 'significant disruption' to its services, while the union has said the industrial action – which would be the largest on the South Island waterfront in years – would 'shut the port'.

'It is unlikely we will be able to berth and work vessels however we are assessing what services we can provide during the strike period,' LPC operations manager Paul Monk said.

If the strike continued for more than a week then 'shortages of some critical supplies will begin to occur, which will affect the region'.

The dispute centres on a new collective contract, namely disagreements over proposed roster changes and rates of pay. There have been 22 meetings, but so far no resolution.

LPC has called the union's salary demands 'unreasonable and unacceptable' and says the other major union at the port has already 'embraced' roster changes it is asking RMTU to adopt.

Kerr disputed this, saying the union had raised health and safety issues around fatigue and wanted a working group set up to look into the issue to come back with its recommendations before any changes were made.

The port's marketing manager has accused the union of using health and safety to advance its 'industrial agenda'. Kerr said this had incensed the workers and inflamed the situation.

'That man walks past the memorial for the last man killed on the waterfront every day on the way to work. So for him to say that is beyond repugnant.'

The 'relationship has reached rock bottom'. Kerr was hopeful a resolution could be reached on Wednesday, but it 'takes two to tango'.

The union was offering a compromise position, which was open to negotiation, of 4 per cent pay increases across the board and no changes to rosters.

It would also commit to co-operating with the port over the next 12 months to see how the roster changes could be implemented safely, Kerr said.

LPC was offering at least 3 per cent salary increases a year for the next three years.

Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leeann Watson said: 'I think the view of the business community is that we would strongly prefer the strike action did not go ahead.

'The potential strike action will cause delays for Canterbury businesses and consumers.'

The port, the third largest container port in the country, handles more than 70 per cent of the South Island's imports. Exports through it are worth nearly $5 billion a year.