Auckland dockers` two-week strikes divert cargo to rival Tauranga

THREE hundred dockers at New Zealand`s Ports of Auckland are striking to change flex hour work rules and to make health and safety gains, despite less work after the departure of giant dairy shipper Fonterra.

It is likely that shippers will shift to the Port of Tauranga if the Maritime Union of New Zealand are unable to reach an agreement with shipping companies, said International Container Lines Committee.


The work stoppage, initially of two days, is now to last a week from Friday, February 24, with a second week to begin start after on March 2.


The ongoing industrial disputes have already diverted business to Tauranga which has seen the introduction of Maersk Line`s Southern Star Express service with an annual capacity 82,000 TEU at the expense of Auckland, reports London`s Containerisation International.


The two-week strike is the longest since the union began the dispute over flexible shift work in December and has led to the loss of Fonterra`s business to ensure "certainty of supply" for its trade which amounts to US$27 million weekly.