The battle between the Ports of Auckland and its wharfies escalated again yesterday, despite both sides agreeing to head back to mediation.
As watersiders met at noon to vote on whether to end their current strike the port company issued the Maritime Union with a notice locking the workers out.
It has given the 292 wharfies 14 days’ notice of the indefinite lockout as required by law. But in the meantime the union says workers are not allowed through the port gates – a move it claims constitutes an illegal lockout.
It now looks as though a deal on Wednesday night was the calm before the storm.