April 08, 2021
Port bosses running scared on safety challenge
A former unionist who tried to deliver a letter to Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson says the boss with the million-dollar salary is running scared.
Shane Te Pou says Mr Gibson and board chair Bill Osborne refused to meet him and fellow campaigners Tau Henare and Robert Reid when they turned up at the port yesterday with a letter calling for their resignations.
Instead, they sent out the deputy chief executive.
He says the campaign is uncovering further stories about the port safety record, on top of the three deaths in three years on the site.
"I've had women and partners who are afraid when their husband leaves in the morning that they are not going to come back. They say the site is unsafe and there is real fear out there at the Ports of Auckland on two fronts – one when they go to mahi, and two when they speak up on health and safety issues," he says.
Mr Te Pou says the campaign is asking Labour’s Māori caucus for support, and it is also considering a mass public protest at the port.
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