新西兰英语 561 Watersiders’ Strike

 　　They are called watersiders or wharfies and they work on the wharf¹, loading and unloading goods from ships in a port. Most belong to the Maritime² Union. Today, 300 watersiders at the Ports of Auckland started a three-week strike. This is the 7th strike since early December, but this time it is a complete stop-work.

　　The Port Company and the watersiders have held talks many times to try to find a solution to the disagreements between the two sides. The Ports of Auckland wants to use contractors³ to do the work. This means they could hire contractors only when there is work. They would not have to pay workers when no ships are in port.

　　The Watersiders say that this is not fair. They need job security – a guarantee that they will have a regular income. They do not want to be on call for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

　　Meanwhile importers and exporters are getting angry. One importer paid to bring his containers of goods from Wellington to Auckland by rail. The dairy company Fonterra, New Zealand’s biggest exporter, moved its business to other ports last month. One of those ports, the Port of Tauranga made a 22% profit for the last six months.

　　The Ports of Auckland company is owned by the Auckland Council which expects a good profit.

　　Vocabulary

　　maritime – connected to the sea

　　union – group of workers who want good working conditions

　　strike – refuse to work, a stop-work

　　solution (noun) – solve (verb) an answer to a problem

　　job security – workers want to make sure they will always have work

　　guarantee – promise

　　be on call – be available for work

　　Question

　　There are always more problems that we do not know about so we cannot say one side is right and the other side is wrong. What is the best way to solve disagreements like this?

1 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

2 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

3 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》