NZ unionist killed on picket line

January 19, 2000
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NZ unionist killed on picket line

By Murray Addison

AUCKLAND — The New Zealand port of Lyttelton, near Christchurch, came to a standstill on January 5 as 250 port workers defied their employer, the Lyttelton Port Company, and walked off the job to attend the funeral of Christine Clarke. Clarke died on new year's eve from brain injuries she suffered when she was run over by a vehicle while on a picket line at the port.

Clarke joined picketers on December 29 for their second day of protest against the Lyttelton Port Company's coal loading contracting-out plan, which union leaders say will eventually cost between 15 and 30 jobs. The vehicle ran the picket line just as an agreement was reached to lift the picket and resume negotiations. The driver has been charged with dangerous driving causing death.

The president of the NZ Trade Union Federation, Maxine Gay, said the union movement was utterly outraged and horrified at Clarke's death, which she said could herald the beginning of a new era of union activity.

"For the third time in New Zealand's history, a trade union activist has been killed following a period of anti-trade union propaganda by employer groups, conservative political parties and newspaper editorials. The attacks on trade unions during the last election campaign once again created the climate for such a tragic event to occur", Gay said. "Unfortunately, some media and employers have chosen to continue their attacks even after Christine's death."

The dispute developed when the company decided to contract out its coal loading work in spite of the fact that the unions had put up two cost-saving packages, the latest of which offered savings of almost $400,000 by doing away with overtime payments.

Les Wells, the national and Lyttelton president of the Waterfront Workers Union, accused the company of negotiating the last collective contract in bad faith, saying it did not reveal its plans until three weeks after the contract had been signed at the end of June.

"The company is not running at a loss", he said. "It's all being done in the name of greed."

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