Ports of Auckland staff furious over ousted CEO’s payout
The Maritime Union is furious outgoing Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson has been paid nearly $1.8 million before leaving the company.
Gibson, who resigned in May, is facing health and safety charges over a stevedore’s death last year.
That death is one of three linked to the Ports in recent years, along with multiple injuries.
Before leaving the job, Gibson was on a salary of around $820,000 – the highest paid employee there.
But the latest annual report shows payment to a resigning employee of between $1.78 million and $1.79 million in the last financial year.
After 3 deaths and a deplorable hate of the Union, Tony Gibson gets paid out $1.7million????
The Union hating Tony Gibson did everything in his power to ostracise and silence the Union. He actively ignored their concerns, he oversaw an incentive scheme that endangered  workers and he refused to lower speed limits in the Port.
His claim that he was staying on to fix the problems he ignored was just outrageous!
If your Doctor had ignored your concerns about being incredibly sick and then after becoming incredibly sick, then demanded to remain on as your Dr to do the surgery, you’d tell them to go jump!
Look, this isn’t a private company, it’s owned by Auckland Council, the public ethos demands leaders who are going to put health and safety first.
Gibson didn’t do that and he gets paid almost $2million?
There is one rule for the rich and another rule for the rest of us!
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This is just disgusting. The payout to Gibson not only illustrates the boards total disrespect for the families of the workers killed at the port but also that it is prepared to reward this person in spite of the harm, grief and dismissive attitude he and his board brought to the families of those killed.
By all accounts, in addition to the unacceptable deaths of those good decent people Gibson and his board ran a dismal operation and for all of that he gets rewarded by the board. Just unbelievably callous and what an insult to the families of those who were killed and to all the port workers. And even though he might be facing a prosecution in court, the board and Auckland Council never called him or the board to account.
The vultures need to pull their heads in, the man negotiated a contract, it was rightfully honored under law, end of story.
But note to the union – learn to negotiate good contracts instead of going on a witch hunt. From what i have witnessed with contract negotiations completed by NZ unions for their members, they are simply hopeless. Maybe give Mr Gibson a call he could probably teach you a great deal about contract negotiations for your members.
$1.7M is 34 years pay for someone on $50,000; the sense of entitlement of the ‘ruling class’ is obscene.
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