• Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL) is hopeful that the Maritime Union’s stop-work meeting today will be the beginning of the end of a year and a half of negotiations.

  “No-one could have anticipated that when the negotiations started on 5 August 2011, they would still be going in February 2013”, said port CEO Tony Gibson, “but hopefully we’re in the final straight.  Enough is enough.”

  After nine months of negotiation and mediation, and another nine months in facilitation, Ports of Auckland has said it will accept the package of recommendations put forward by Alastair Dumbleton, Head of the Employment Relations Authority.

  “Neither party will be entirely happy with all the recommendations, said Mr Gibson, but that’s the nature of compromise: you take the good with the bad.  I am pretty optimistic that the Maritime Union will do a deal, given their positive comments about facilitation late last year” he added.

  The union is holding a full meeting of its membership today, a meeting that is expected to take all morning while the recommendations are discussed in detail.

  Work at Ports of Auckland’s container terminal will continue as normal during the meeting as a third of the stevedoring workforce are not MUNZ members and will be available for work.

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Ports of Auckland Communications: 09 348 5262