The recently appointed national secretary of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), Bill Newsonsaid the dispute between the Maritime Union of New Zealand (Munz) and Ports of Auckland Ltd could prompt a "trend" which other employers might decide to follow.
"Yes, I believe there is a tendency employers could take this dispute as a signal," he said in an interview in Dunedin yesterday during a 20-stop nationwide roadshow.
The maritime union is going to court to get a determination on whether the port company was legally able to sack its almost 300 workers last week, while they were in negotiation, or acted outside "good faith" bargaining procedures.
"If Ports of Auckland destroys the union and casualises its workforce, that's all done to drive down wages. It's a strong motivator for other employers," Mr Newson said.
He estimated Air New Zealand and four other, unnamed companies will account for up to 300 redundancies this year, and two more companies hadrecently signalled potential job losses.
The EPMU, the country's largest private-sector union at 40,000-strong, was lending not only its voice to the Auckland dispute, but was making a "significant" financial contribution and supplied logistical support for last weekend's public rallies, Mr Newson said.
The biggest issues facing the EPMU's members, and New Zealand's workforce in general, were the escalating cost of living, mounting pressures on wage values and workforce casualisation.
"If an employer tries to emulate what Ports of Auckland is doing, we will fight back. There is the potential for disruption," Mr Newson said.
He was adamant that more than 80% of employers were focusing on growing their companies without affecting their staff, but some others were looking to casualise their workforce, using part-timers or making staff into contractors.
He cited a dispute with Telecom, which was making its maintenance staff sub-contractors, and also claimed casualised ports did not enjoy the safety record of Ports of Auckland, with its union base.
Mr Newson (56) replaces Andrew Little, who, after 11 years as secretary, became a Labour list MP after failing to win New Plymouth for the party at the last election.
Mr Newson said while the EPMU remained affiliated to Labour, he was not seeking to become an office holder.
He joined the EPMU (at the time the Engineers' Union) in 1983, as a welder, then in 1985 became a research officer for the union. He started as a full-time organiser in 1987, moving through the ranks in branches from assistant to full secretary positions to become the Wellington-based national secretary.
He wants the EPMU to build up its membership and resources.
