Tony Gibson, CEO of Ports of Auckland, reportedly earns more than $700,000 a year.
New Zealand’s Ports of Auckland announced it was sacking almost 300 striking dock workers Wednesday, escalating a long-running industrial dispute in the country’s largest city.
The company, which is owned by Auckland city council, said 292 of its employees, mostly stevedores, would be made redundant and stevedoring work in the port would be outsourced to three specialist firms.
It said the sacked workers, who have staged a series of rolling strikes since last August as they battle against plans to revamp working practices at the port, would be encouraged to apply for jobs at the stevedoring firms.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand said the sacked workers were “gutted” at the port’s action, as they had offered to provide increased workplace flexibility during talks with the employer.
Union president Garry Parsloe said important principles were at stake and the sackings would not end the industrial dispute.
“We don’t accept that our jobs should be casualised, we cannot let Ports of Auckland get away with this move,” he said.
“This is by no means the end of our campaign for secure work.”