The workers at the Ports of Auckland are called watersiders, stevedores, dock workers or wharfies. Their union has been negotiating with the Ports of Auckland company for many months over changes to the hours of work but they could not agree. Today, the union and the CEO of the company had a three-hour meeting with the mayor of Auckland, Len Brown. Len Brown hoped he could mediate. He tried to get both sides to agree but he was not successful. The company said it is too late. A contracting company is already hiring new workers and the old workers will be redundant; they will lose their jobs. These new workers will be contractors who work when ships are in port and will not be paid when there are no ships.

　　Listen to February 24th 2012 to hear more about this.

　　Meanwhile, Affco meat workers from six freezing works are holding a two-day strike. The union could not reach an agreement with the company about pay and hours of work so 1000 workers were locked out. When they are locked out of their work place, there is no pay. Other workers have gone on strike to support them.

　　It is hard for workers to go on strike because they do not get paid. However, they feel this is the only way the company will agree to what they want.

　　Vocabulary

　　on strike – will not work; they stand outside the work place and protest

　　stevedore – loads and unloads ships

　　dock – another word for wharf, a place where ships tie up

　　negotiate – to talk until they reach an agreement

　　mediate – to act in a middle position and help each side to reach an agreement

　　hire – employ

　　contractor – gets paid for the job, not paid by the hour

　　redundant – not needed

　　meat works, freezing works – factory where animals are killed for meat and the meat is frozen for export

　　Grammar

　　Note: a meeting lasts three hours or a strike is for two days (plural ‘s’) but when these words are used as an adjective before the noun, drop the ‘s’ e.g. a three-hour meeting or a two-day strike. (A hyphen is usual.) This rule is the same for ages e.g. a child is ten years old but a ten-year old child (no ‘s’). Sometimes with ages, you can drop the noun e.g. he is a 40-year old.