NZ port safety review urgently needed

On the same day as the MUNZ media release, a worker suffered a broken arm in a fall aboard a vessel at Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (pictured) and the following day two C3 employees at PrimePort Timaru were taken to hospital after an incident aboard a containership

According to Maritime New Zealand figures cited by the union, there have been 130 non-fatal health and safety incidents and three deaths aboard ships at ports in the country between from 2011 to October 2014.

MUNZ national secretary Joe Fleetwood says the ongoing and regular accidents in the port sector show there are “systemic and deep-rooted problems” that needed to be brought into the open.

He says the casualisation of the industry had resulted in a decline in skills, safety and a career path for workers.