March 8, 2006

The two Uni­ons rep­res­ent­ing port work­ers in New Zea­l­and have come out against a pro­posed deal that would see the Port of Lyt­telton pass into effect­ive con­trol of mul­tina­tion­al cor­por­ate Hutchis­on.

The Rail and Mari­time Trans­port Uni­on (RMTU) and the Mari­time Uni­on of New Zea­l­and (MUNZ) are work­ing togeth­er to pro­mote loc­al con­trol of the port.

Rail and Mari­time Trans­port Uni­on Gen­er­al Sec­ret­ary Wayne But­son says the sell-off means a vital piece of New Zea­l­and infra­struc­ture will be effect­ively going into over­seas con­trol, with ser­i­ous reper­cus­sions for the New Zea­l­and eco­nomy.