Unions ready to picket

Press, 17 January 1989, Page 1

Unions ready to picket

p A Auckland Maritime unions confirmed last evening that they will picket the New Zealand Pacific when the foreign-manned ship berths at Auckland this morning. The picket, involving seamen, cooks and stewards and some officers, is expected to prevent unloading of the refrigerated container ship, holding cargo worth $5l million. With dockside workers unlikely to cross the picket, the next move for both sides could be through the courts.

The New Zealand Pacific, renamed Tui, is one of two Shipping Corporation vessels reflagged last week in a move to introduce international manning levels and conditions.

The Shipping Corporation believes a picket of the vessel — now sailed by Spanish seamen and British officers — would be illegal. It is understood to be planning swift legal action to have the picket lifted and,could also pursue damages. The Seamen’s Union is consulting lawyers about a challenge to .the corporation’s move and its refusal to take the seamen back on board the vessel.

The union’s assistant secretary in Auckland, Mr Harry Scullion, said last evening the corporation had acted “in complete breach” of New Zealand’s labour legislation.’ . ■ - .

"We have some legal rights available to us,” Mr Scullion said.

BA Hastings The former master of the Forum New Zealand 11, Mr Tony Date, of Havelock North, signed up for the unemployment benefit in Hastings yesterday. Mr Date, aged 50, was sacked along with his crew last week when the New Zealand Shipping Corporation announced it was selling its two container ships — the Forum New Zealand II and New Zealand Pacific — to a Hong Kong subsidiary. Although he was offered the job of master of the reflagged ship, now the Weka, and wanted to take the post, he was put in a situation where he

was unable to accept it, Mr Date said. He declined to elaborate on what had happened.

Mr Date said 10 crew had signed up for work on the ship under new terms.

Mr Date said he had been told about the sale of the ships on January 8, but had to keep the information secret until an official telex was sent to the ship the following day.

He said the crew took the news hard, and was disappointed. “I was terribly disappointed,” Mr , Date said. “There were a lot of disillusioned people.” But the crew behaved

well and responsibly making his job a lot easier, Mr Date said. Mr Date had been master of the Forum New Zealand for a year and was previously master of the New Zealand Pacific, now the Tui,. for three years.

He had worked for the shipping line for 15 years. He said he hoped to get another post with a shipping line, but was happy to seek alternative jobs locally. Mr Date has been at sea since he was 16, when he became a cadet with the British Navy, but said he was prepared to give shore life “a whirl.”