Maritime Union wants answers on Indonesian shipjumpers

The Mar­itime Union of New Zealand and Inter­na­tion­al Trans­port Work­ers’ Fed­er­a­tion (ITF) are inves­ti­gat­ing a shipjump­ing inci­dent in Dunedin where nine Indone­sian sea­far­ers left the fish­ing trawler Mar­inui on Fri­day 10 March.

ITF New Zealand co-ordi­na­tor Kathy Whe­lan says the Union has been in touch with the Min­istry of Immi­gra­tion about the case, and ITF rep­re­sen­ta­tives will try to speak to the fish­er­men at Auck­land Air­port before they are sent home tomor­row.

She says she is extreme­ly con­cerned about the increas­ing num­bers of for­eign sea­far­ers leav­ing their ves­sels in New Zealand ports, in this case claim­ing they were sub­ject­ed to 24 hour shifts with no breaks, two hour sleep breaks, and phys­i­cal abuse.

Mr Han­son says the Mar­itime Union and the Inter­na­tion­al Trans­port Work­ers Fed­er­a­tion, as well as the Coun­cil of Trade Unions, were recent­ly giv­en assur­ances by the Min­is­ter of Immi­gra­tion that prob­lems in the fish­ing indus­try would be fixed.

“We want to get the real facts on the mat­ter, as we are always see­ing these shipjump­ing work­ers spir­it­ed out of the coun­try before the mat­ter is prop­er­ly inves­ti­gat­ed.”

He says the Mar­itime Union posi­tion is that the employ­ment of over­seas fish­er­men in New Zealand waters needs to be close­ly mon­i­tored and reg­u­lat­ed by New Zealand Immi­gra­tion offi­cials in their coun­try of ori­gin.

“This is the only way to make sure these exploit­ed work­ers are employed on prop­er terms and con­di­tions at New Zealand mar­ket rates with prop­er employ­ment agree­ments, and that they are not sub­ject to cor­rupt prac­tices like hav­ing to pay ‘fees’ for their job.”

For fur­ther infor­ma­tion con­tact:

Mar­itime Union Gen­er­al Sec­re­tary Trevor Han­son on 04 801 7614 or 021 390585

ITF New Zealand Co-ordi­na­tor Kathy Whe­lan on 04 801 7613 or 021 666405