Over 130 years working together

We’ve been around since 1881, beginning as the Institute of Marine and Power Engineers. We began as a professional society working to improve and protect conditions, pay and safety of Marine Engineers working around the New Zealand coast, across the Tasman and between here and Britain. In 1934, we became an Incorporated Society. In 1990, the Institute restructured as the NZ Association of Marine Aviation & Power Engineers and registered as a union under the Labour Relations Act.

With the introduction of the Employment Relations Act 2000, unions were required to register.  We became The Aviation and Marine Engineers Association (AMEA). In 1999, we were one of the first to register under the new Act.

As marine engineers settled in jobs ashore, they carried with them the collective strength of the Association and we expanded. Now we represent skilled workers in Aviation, Dairy, Meat, Fertiliser, Water, Port and Local Authority industries. We negotiate for almost fifty Collective Agreements, for over 2,000 members.