The Maritime Union of New Zealand has welcomed the conviction of former Port of Auckland (POAL) CEO Tony Gibson on a health and safety charge.
Gibson was found guilty by Judge Bonnar in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday.
Charges were laid against Gibson by industry regulator Maritime New Zealand under the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015) following the death of POAL employee Pala’amo (Amo) Kalati on August 30, 2020. He was killed when a container fell from an operating crane.
On the night of the incident, he was working as a "lasher" onboard a container ship. In the past, lashers had reported to a lash leading hand who communicated by radio with the worker in charge of supervising the crane operator. However, Port of Aukland Limited has disestablished the role as part of forming "bubbles" in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the bay next to where Kalati was working, a crane was lifting pairs of containers off the vessel. The crane operator did not know that Kalati and his work partner were working in the bay over. As the crane was lifting a pair of containers, a third container was accidentally lifted as well. It fell on to Kalati.
The Court found Gibson failed to ensure adequate systems were in place to manage critical risks, particularly around crane operations and exclusion zones.
Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says the conviction brings to an end “an era of failure at the highest levels of Port of Auckland which had tragic outcomes for workers, their families and their colleagues.”
The Maritime Union made repeated attempts to draw attention to health and safety concerns at POAL during Gibson’s tenure, which were minimized and downplayed. “This conviction vindicates the stance of our Union but it sadly comes too late for those who died due to the failure to ensure a safe workplace.”
Findlay says thoughts today should go out to the families and those left behind after deaths on the waterfront. “Today’s outcome sends a message that workers lives mean something, and that highly paid decision makers are accountable for their decisions.”
New management at the Port of Auckland have taken a positive approach to engaging with workers and the Union, says Findlay, and this has resulted in health and safety and the wellbeing of workers at the Port becoming a priority.
“Following the ignominious resignation and departure of Mr Gibson in 2021, the Maritime Union has worked together successfully with new management at POAL and stevedoring companies in Auckland to develop a code of practice to ensure best safety practices in stevedoring.”
The Maritime Union would continue to campaign for corporate manslaughter laws that reflected its view – “Kill a worker, go to jail.”
This is the first time a chief executive from a company of POAL’s size had been charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
