The Maritime Union of New Zealand has strongly condemned KiwiRail’s proposal for drastic job cuts on its Cook Strait ferry operations.
KiwiRail this week announced it would remove the rail-enabled Aratere ferry from service in August 2025.
KiwiRail has advised today it is seeking to cut 70 jobs for MUNZ members in the deck and catering departments on the Aratere.
Further job losses are anticipated for officers and engineers who are members of other unions.
Maritime Union of New Zealand Wellington Branch Secretary Fiona Mansell says crew are angry at the announcement.
The Maritime Union would resist any job losses and would only accept voluntary redundancies.
She says the proposal is a massive letdown for crew who had worked hard and delivered on the ageing KiwiRail ferry fleet, and who were paying for the failures of management and politicians.
“This decision rips the heart out of our maritime workforce, leaving dedicated workers and their families facing an uncertain future. It’s a betrayal of the people who keep our country connected.”
She says such a major loss of jobs would have a devastating impact on New Zealand’s maritime resilience and would be a significant blow to our seafaring workforce.
Ms Mansell says no thought has been given to what KiwiRail will do when it requires more crew for its new vessels in the future.
“New Zealand deserves a resilient, capable maritime sector, not one that is dismantled at the whim of short term thinking and cost-cutting. Our jobs, our skills, and our national supply chain depend on it.”
