ERA splits decision after three operators refused to work with the same colleague
Three terminal tractor operators told their employer they would not work with a particular loader operator. Two lost their jobs. Only one wins interim reinstatement.
In a determination issued on 30 April 2026, the Employment Relations Authority ordered Qube Ports NZ Limited to interim reinstate Paul McMillan, a permanent terminal tractor operator at the Port of Gisborne, while declining the same remedy for his colleague Dion Robin, who was on a casual contract.
The story began on the evening of 8 January 2026. It was the first major vessel operation after the holiday shutdown, scheduled to begin at 7pm. Qube had originally planned to run four gangs but, due to other issues, was already down to three by the start of the shift. Before loading commenced, all three terminal tractor operators rostered that night, including McMillan and Robin, said they would not work with the loader operator.
Qube's managers took the simultaneous nature of the refusals, the similarity of explanations, and the operators' use of collective pronouns as signs of a coordinated walk-off, a characterisation the applicants dispute. After fact-finding meetings on 19 January 2026 and disciplinary letters on 22 January 2026, McMillan was dismissed for serious misconduct on 27 February 2026. Robin, the casual, was told the same day that his actions amounted to serious misconduct and that he would not be re-engaged.
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