Transport unions form strategic alliance in New Zealand ports

Two of New Zealand’s main trans­port unions have formed a strate­gic alliance focussed on the New Zealand water­front.

Nation­al offi­cials of the Rail and Mar­itime Trans­port Union (RMTU) and the Mar­itime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) this week signed an Alliance Char­ter in Welling­ton.

The key goal of the char­ter is to grow union­ism and col­lec­tiv­i­ty amongst Port and Water­front work­ers through joint action and ini­tia­tives.

The char­ter is based around com­mu­ni­ca­tion, infor­ma­tion shar­ing, joint cam­paign­ing, a polit­i­cal strat­e­gy and a nation­al orga­niz­ing strat­e­gy.

Both unions are affil­i­ates of the New Zealand Coun­cil of Trade Unions, the Inter­na­tion­al Trans­port Work­ers Fed­er­a­tion, and the Trans Tas­man Trans­port Union Alliance.

Mar­itime Union Gen­er­al Sec­re­tary Joe Fleet­wood says the Alliance Char­ter is focussed on get­ting all port and water­front work­ers in New Zealand into gen­uine unions and build­ing terms and con­di­tions on the water­front.

Rail and Mar­itime Trans­port Union Gen­er­al Sec­re­tary Wayne But­son says that joint projects between the two unions have already been dis­cussed which will enhance the pow­er and influ­ence of orga­nized labour on the New Zealand water­front.

He says the strate­gic alliance will have a major impact on the trans­port and logis­tics sec­tor with­in New Zealand and inter­na­tion­al­ly.