Maritime workers onboard protest at Port of Tauranga

A del­eg­a­tion of Mari­time Uni­on mem­bers will go onboard the ves­sel Buz­zard Bay at the Port of Taur­anga today to deliv­er a mes­sage to the cap­tain about prac­tices aboard the ship.

The Buz­zard Bay is trad­ing without an Inter­na­tion­al Trans­port Work­ers Fed­er­a­tion (ITF) agree­ment that guar­an­tees employ­ment con­di­tions are main­tained at an accept­able inter­na­tion­ally agreed level, and the health, wel­fare, social and human rights of crew are also pro­tec­ted.

The over­seas crew on the ves­sel have been unlash­ing cargo in New Zea­l­and waters without per­mits.

This work is nor­mally done by New Zea­l­and work­ers and is covered by New Zea­l­and laws.

Mari­time Uni­on Gen­er­al Sec­ret­ary Tre­vor Han­son says that this will lead to job losses.

“The prob­lem is that there is no end point to the pro­cess, as work by over­seas crews will inev­it­ably come onshore if we allow this kind of thing to con­tin­ue.”

He says the Mari­time Uni­on is con­cerned that this prob­lem will become more ser­i­ous if free trade agree­ments come into force.

“This issue is a major one around the world.”