Ball in MUNZ court
Ports of Auckland has announced it will accept the recommendations of facilitator Alastair Dumbleton in the long-running dispute with the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) – however, a declaration of the latter’s position is still awaited.
Port company chief executive Tony Gibson says while “not happy with aspects of the package” – details of which remain confidential since its release in late January – he was “willing to compromise in order to do a deal”.
MUNZ national president Garry Parsloe gave a more encrypted response when stating the “union considers the recommendations as a whole to be a useful basis to enter into what it hopes will be a successful round of negotiations”.
Commentators have speculated the port company is expressing a commitment to reaching a deal whereas MUNZ may be angling to restart the whole process without taking genuine heed of the facilitator’s recommendations.
