Matt McCarten on politics  Matt McCarten is a Herald on Sunday
political columnist  Matt McCarten: Everyone in unionland smells
a rat at the port  The prospect of contracting resulted in
bitterness. Photo / Nigel Marple The prospect of contracting
resulted in bitterness. Photo / Nigel Marple  In two weeks the
wharfies union's employment agreement lapses. The term of the
document actually expired a year ago, but legally if a new
agreement isn't reached then it stays in force, protecting
employees' wages and conditions, for another 12 months.  On the
30th of this month union workers will default to individual
contracts and then the Ports of Auckland could, according to my
sources, restart their failed contracting-out campaign.  Most
Aucklanders would have assumed the whole ports lockout earlier
this year had been resolved months ago. After all, when the
board's bungling resulted in them having to lift the lockout of
their workers you'd think they would have learned their lesson.
The board's ideologue, Rob Camp