PORT ROUNDUPS
Offshore Industry Meeting by Garry Parsloe National Vice President
Labour MPs Phil Twyford, Darien Fenton, Jacinda Ardern and Carol Beaumont with Maritime Union National Vice President Garry Parsloe at the 2010 Auckland Old Timers Christmas Party
Auckland Old Timers’ Xmas Party by Garry Parsloe National Vice President We held the Auckland Branch Old Timers’ Xmas Party at the Maritime Club in Anzac Avenue on 17 December 2010. I welcomed all the Old Timers to their Social and thanked them for their past struggles which have helped preserve the Union in the good condition that it is in (not a lot of ships, but those that we have are on the best of wages and conditions). I then read faxes from the vessels which among other things wished all the Old Timers the best on this very very special day. The ships’ faxes were indicative of the high regard that the Old Timers are held in by the membership. Old Timers from other Ports were welcomed to the party with a special reference to Tommy Cavanagh who travelled all the way from Liverpool. Local 13 Branch Executive members representing the Auckland Branch Executive were President Garry Parsloe , Secretary/Treasurer Russell Mayn, Vice President Carl Findlay, Walking Delegate Dave Phillips and Craig Harrison, Graham McKean and Daniel Staley from the Executive. Past Executive members in attendance included Alex McDonald (ex-President, Auckland Seamen’s Branch) and also long standing member of the Seafarers’ National Executive and ex Auckland Assistant Secretary of the New Zealand Seafarers’ Union Gerard Hill. 22 | The Maritimes | Autumn 2011
It was great to have Officials from other Unions in attendance especially Len Richards from the SFWU, Ray Bianchi Secretary of the AWUNZ and Karl Andersen from the NDU. There were members from other Ports and we made big mention of John Broughton from Tauranga and our special guest MUNZ Wellington Seafarers’ Branch Secretary Mike Clark. We had four members of Parliament at the party, Darien Fenton, Carol Beaumont, Jacinda Ardern and Phil Twyford. The first speaker was Mike Clark, Wellington Seafarers’ Secretary who spoke on Branches supporting each other and the importance of unity. The next four speakers were the Members of Parliament, Darien Fenton, Carol Beaumont, Jacinda Ardern, and Phil Twyford. They all gave good presentations stating that the Old Timers’ parties were great occasions and that they were happy to attend and share in the festivities. The last speaker was Ray Bianchi, Secretary of the Amalgamated Workers’ Union of New Zealand. As usual Ray’s speech was very colourful with references to his earlier days at sea. Ray went on to talk about a range of events within the Trade Union Movement. Special thanks must go to the cooks, Kevin Todd, Graham Ingham, Mike Burke and Paul Gradiska for the excellent spread that they put on. As always it was an excellent day out for all the Old Timers and on behalf of the Auckland Branch Executive I want to thank all those individuals and ships’ crews for their donations which made the Old Timers’ Party the success that it was. See you all next time which will be on the 16 December 2011.
On 16 November 2010, General Secretary Joe Fleetwood, Wellington Seafarers’ Branch Secretary Mike Clark and I met with the officials of the Maritime Union of Australia to discuss issues of manning etc in Sea Tow and the Australian offshore. The question of bringing trainees into the industry was agreed as a top priority as a shortfall of seafarers is looming, especially for the offshore. The payment/deduction of union fees both for MUNZ and MUA was discussed and agreed with Sea Tow. On 17 November 2010 we had a meeting with the Australian offshore employers regarding manning arrangements for the Australian offshore. There was a phone linkup with employers to discuss manning procedures and access to jobs. There needs to be ongoing dialogue with these manning issues.
Sea Tow meeting Melbourne, 24 January 2011 by Garry Parsloe National Vice President On 24 January 2011 I went to Melbourne to meet with the Management of P.B. Sea-Tow and the Maritime Union of Australia regarding the employment of New Zealand ratings in the Gladstone and Gorgon projects. P.B. Sea-Tow has secured contracts in both Gladstone and Gorgon and it was a matter of agreeing the level of involvement of New Zealand ratings in those projects. During the day we had a video link up with MUA West Australia branch secretary Chris Cain in Fremantle to talk further about where to place New Zealand ratings and where to employ unemployed Australian ratings where unemployment exists. After discussions we again agreed on a way forward which was in the best interest of all parties.
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