MUNZ loses in Court too

MUNZ is on a losing streak. Not only has Gary Parsloe's boast that not a single ship would be unloaded whilst Local 13 members are on strike been proved false, but the Courts have found against the union as well; read on:

Staff at Wellington's CentrePort have been ordered to unload a ship they had blacklisted after it was loaded by non-union workers in Auckland.

The Employment Court has granted an injunction against the Maritime Union and the Rail and Maritime Transport Union.

That means both unions are prevented from stopping their members working on the Maersk Aberdeen.

The ship has spent four days sitting fully loaded in Wellington while workers went out in sympathy.

But the Maritime Union said the workers are not doing anything unlawful because they are not actually striking.

Their lawyer said earlier what they were doing was noble and dignified, taking a stand against the way workers were being treated by Ports of Auckland.

CentrePort said in today's hearing that every day the ship sits unattended is further damaging its reputation.

So a Court has upheld the right for an employer to expect its staff to do the work they are employed to do, and has confirmed that MUNZ's secondary strikes are illegal. Good!

In the meantime, the Jurassic status of the Maritime Union of New Zealand and its Australian and American mates is confirmed. That can only be a good thing. Now; if only MUNZ would allow its members to vote in secret over whether they want to strike or earn money by doing their jobs...