Over the past few months, we've seen Auckland City's wholly-owned port, Ports of Auckland, waging war against its own workforce, costing the city millions of dollars in lost dividends. Now, the Auckland Council has acted, requiring its intermediate Auckland Council Investments Limited to impose "good employer" provisions on its subsidiaries. Which should end the current dispute permanently. "Good employers" don't contract out their workforce to the lowest bidder, and work with their local unions, not against them.
I'm glad the Auckland Council has finally seen sense and reined in its rogue port. But shouldn't they be demanding accountability as well? Port management has wasted millions of dollars of ratepayer's money pursuing this pointless dispute - and they need to lose their jobs for it.
