Brown fails

As strike costs at the Ports of Auckland top $32 million, a mayoral mediation this morning got nowhere.   

Auckland mayor Len Brown was meeting Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson, chairman Richard Pearson and Maritime Union president Garry Parsloe in what was said to be a bid to resolve the dispute.

The Town Hall meeting began at 10am.

Following the port's announcement last week that it intended to go ahead with its plan to contract out the workers, union action intensified, and police being called to some ugly incidents at the picket line early this morning.  Union protestors blockaded trucks from the Ferguson terminal entrance.

Mr Pearson also said he wanted to send a message to striking workers to make applications for the jobs that are being advertised for stevedore work at the port, and that the port will now be fully operational within six weeks.

Mr Brown said he took the opportunity to get the various views of the parties involved, but admitted no progress had been made.

“Both parties maintain their positions at this point, in the meantime I have asked them to exercise restraint and respect the rule of law on the waterfront.”

No common ground

According to Auckland mayor Len Brown, the aim of today’s meeting was to “see whether we could find common ground, we have not been able to find that today.”

Mayor Brown says the port is the most critical utility in Auckland, handling 33% of the country's trade.  

However he said he would not “run the ports out of my office, it’s not the way government ministers control SOEs and I do not expect to do that with my council.”

The movement towards casualisation of labour at the Ports of Auckland has led to a seven month dispute, culminating in the council controlled port company making almost 300 striking unionists redundant last week .

The port-owning council has so far refused to take control of any negotiations between the workers and the port management.

The dispute delayed loading of a ship this morning as union members blockaded the entrance of the port, leaving trucks waiting on the kerbside.