Port Workers’ Union Condemns Boss’s “Excessive” Pay

Port Workers’ Union Condemns Boss’s “Excessive” Pay

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) says Lyttelton Port CEO Peter Davie’s $955,000 pay packet cannot be justified and is symptomatic of a broken wage-setting system in New Zealand.

‘We’re in the middle of negotiations for a port wide collective agreement that covers cargo handlers, marine, maintenance and security staff and this news is slap in the face for those workers,’ said RMTU South Island Organiser John Kerr.

‘Any success that Lyttelton Port has enjoyed in the past year is down to a combination of rank and file port workers working around the clock in all weathers and the boost in shipping after the closure of the road and railway line to Picton in the wake of the Kaikoura earthquake,’ he said

‘Unionised workers in a vital industry can achieve real wage growth but it’s always a struggle – for most working people however, wages simply stagnate or go backwards while CEO pay remains at these excessive levels,’ he said.

‘It’s about time the wage fixing mechanism in New Zealand was reformed to give more workers the opportunity of securing decent pay rates,’ he said.

‘We could start by backing the living wage as a minimum as anything less simply institutionalises poverty,’ he said.

‘Rebalancing the difference between CEO pay and that of front-line staff to a more reasonable level has to be the next step and that will mean boosting workers’ bargaining power and setting minimum standards across industries,’ he said.

‘Our members are awaiting the detail of the Government’s labour law reforms with interest, we simply have to give working people a better chance of getting a fair share of the wealth they create,’ he said.

ENDS

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