By Samantha Gee of RNZ
KiwiRail is proposing to axe more than 50 roles across Interislander's operational staff and head office.
Documents seen by RNZ show the state-owned enterprise has plans to "right-size its workforce" following the cancellation of new ferries and the sale of the cargo ship Valentine, last year.
It is proposing a net reduction of 46 roles - nine deck officers, six engineering officers, three maintenance officers and 28 deck ratings, with the company calling for voluntary redundancies once the positions have been confirmed.
Maritime Union of New Zealand spokesperson Victor Billot said the government had not shared any information about its plans for replacement ferries, with KiwiRail the "meat in the sandwich", constrained by the lack of decision making since the cancellation of the Inter-Island Resilient Connection (iReX) project and the two new ferries in December last year.
The situation remained uncertain and the union did not want to see any forced redundancies, he said.
"We were going to have new ferries, they were going to require crew and that was all planned for then iRex was cancelled and, according to the Minister of Finance, we were going to get Toyota Corollas or something like that and a year down the track. We don't have Toyota Corollas - we don't have anything.
"They haven't come back with a plan, it's been left in limbo and this is now having an effect with the potential loss of crews on ferries."
The Maritime Union represents seafarers, including the deck ratings, who make up the largest proportion of affected jobs.
"Deck ratings work on the ships, they are able-bodied seamen who do general maritime work around the ship - anything from working on the lines to maintenance around the vessel that isn't a specialist role."
Billot if those staff were made redundant, it could be difficult to recruit again when new ferries arrived.
"It is a very small seafaring workforce we've got in New Zealand. It's a real problem and they will get other job opportunities, go overseas. They could leave the industry as its an ageing workforce and then if there is a need for new crew if the situation changes, there is a panic to find crew and it becomes hard.
"The number of people being trained is minute and it is a serious issue."
He said recent disruptions, delays and issues with Cook Strait aging ferries, including the Aratere running aground in the Marlborough Sounds in June with 47 people on board, showed the need for experienced and skilled crew.
"Things can go wrong very quickly and you need skilled, qualified people who can manage those situation - and that's something we think gets left out of the mix a bit."
Billot said the proposed job losses would result in negligible savings compared to the cost of the cancelled of the iRex project, which were estimated at up to $500 million for the cancelled ferry contract, on top of $500 million already spent on sunk project costs.
"We need to have a bit more of a long-term plan here, instead of laying people off and having to find people again."
KiwiRail is seeking feedback on the proposals, with the number of positions to be confirmed later this month, before a voluntary redundancy process was expected to get under way.
A document sent to staff said the proposed changes were part of the plan to enhance Interislander's performance, commercially, operationally and culturally.
A voluntary retirement programme for seafarers (launched in early 2024) along with natural attrition had seen the workforce reduce from 353 staff last July, when it was running four ships and and planning for the arrival of the two new ferries, to 324 staff in September.
The proposed changes would see staff numbers reduced to 278.
KiwiRail said the minimum and operational manning would remain unchanged, with fixed term and casual staff to provide peak or surge capacity as needed.
In the head office, it is proposing the disestablishment of nine roles and the creation of four new roles across its fleet and service operations.
Meanwhile, the organisation has plans to cut train drivers and yard staff roles in Palmerston North and Napier.
KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy foreshadowed job losses last year when the iReX project was canned by the coalition government.
Interislander executive general manager Duncan Roy said having moved back to a three-ship fleet, it was proposing to align its workforce with the current fleet size, which meant the disestablishment of some roles.
He said the proposed changes to crewing levels and onshore roles had been discussed with the unions and he would not comment on the number of roles affected until the consultation process was complete.
Roy said the review of staffing levels was one of a number of initiatives to ensure Interislander was operating efficiently across the fleet while continuing to provide a safe, reliable and enjoyable service for its customers. The government had been briefed on these.
KiwiRail planned to grow by delivering superior customer service, lifting asset reliability and lowering the cost of its operations across the entire business to deliver value for customers.
Roy said safe and efficient crewing levels would continue to be maintained on Interislander's three ferries - the Aratere, Kaitaki and Kaiārahi.
A spokesperson for the office of Paul Goldsmith, Minister for State Owned Enterprises, said in a statement: "KiwiRail has advised us of the changes they are consulting on across the business, including proposed changes to Interislander to right size its operations given KiwiRail sold a fourth ferry in 2023.
"While these decisions are operational and the responsibility of the KiwiRail board, we have received assurances that these proposed changes will not affect KiwiRail's ability to safely and reliably operate its ferries, which is of paramount importance to us.
"We are considering advice on options to improve the resilience of the Cook Strait connection and announcements will be made once decisions have been taken."
