Union claims Ports of Auckland being too picky over port workers

Friday, 18 December 2020

A straddle carrier at the Ports of Auckland. (File photo)

An experienced straddle driver was turned down by Ports of Auckland even though it desperately needs those workers, a union claims.

The port has a shortage of critical staff such a straddle drivers, which it says a large factor in the massive backlog of imported cargo on its wharves and a long wait for ships waiting to berth.

However, the Maritime Union has released an email from a former port employee dated December 2, which rejected him for a job as a straddle driver, even though he had more than 10 years of previous experience driving straddle carriers and other machinery at the port.

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The letter thanked the applicant and said that at this stage ''we do not feel your experience meets our criteria for this position''. It offered him a role as a lasher instead.

Ports of Auckland is the country’s biggest inward cargo port.

The port is in the process of bringing in an automated system for its straddles and Maritime Union of New Zealand (Munz) national secretary Craig Harrison blamed any “labour shortage” at the port on continual staff cuts.

The rejection letter showed Ports of Auckland was not exhausting all the opportunities available to it to solve the congestion, Harrison said.

“Over the past few years our union has highlighted the under-utilisation of stevedores in the various roles and also the reluctance of the Ports of Auckland to train Munz members into some of the key roles.'

An email exchange between Ports of Auckland and an experienced straddle driver who applied for work, after he was initially rejected.

Harrison said the port had relied on staff working excessive hours, which stevedores had been working leading up to the Covid-19 lockdown.

But due to health and safety concerns, he said the port had reduced the amount of hours required to be worked in a seven-day period. At the same time, the automation project continued to fall short of its target dates.

The congestion was affecting the whole country, Harrison said. “Change is required at the top at Ports of Auckland.''

However, a Ports of Auckland spokesman Matt Ball said the union’s claim were ‘’malicious and false’'.

‘’Before we train people to be crane and straddle operators, they are tested for aptitude and are promoted on that basis, regardless of their union affiliation. Plenty of Munz members qualify – but not all. That’s life.’’

However, in the case of the experienced straddle driver, he said the person was sent the email in error and released to media a copy of a follow-up email.

'’The error was noticed immediately and the person was phoned the same day and told of the error. They were also told their application would be considered further and a follow-up email was sent.’’

Ball said the port has also rejected the suggestion that the automation project was the chief reason for the congestion problem.

The project was meant to be put in place in March, the quietest time of the year, but the port has maintained that after the borders closed, it was unable to get vital experts into the country, so only about half of the system is currently working.

It hopes to have the automation working fully next March.

Ball said it was also incorrect that the automation project would replace up to 50 stevedores. The reality was the port would probably end up with more staff due to increased capacity.

‘'’Not a single stevedore has lost their job because of automation. In fact, staff have been clearly told that there will be no change to resourcing until at least six months after automation is fully implemented.

‘’The port will have additional capacity as a result of automation and may gain more volume, so it is entirely possible that more staff will be needed.’’

The port said stevedores were not working excessive hours but has confirmed their hours have been reduced, in part because of a fatal accident to a stevedore in 2018.

‘’Hours change according to demand. In the early part of the year when things were quieter, staff were barely working their guaranteed minimum hours,’’ Ball said.

‘’During the peaks, hours are longer, but fatigue is well managed through the agreed hours of work policy.’’

Laboom Dyer was killed when his straddle crane tipped over. Ports of Auckland was fined $540,000 in the Auckland District Court and ordered to pay $130,000 in reparations to the Dyer family.