EPMU News

Flotech closure shows need for government jobs strategy

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +1200

The decision by high end manufacturing firm Flotech to cease production in New Zealand shows the urgent need for a government jobs strategy, says the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union.

The closure, which will result in more than 70 redundancies at Flotech's Manukau plant, follows similar mass redundancies at Summit Wool Spinners in Oamaru and Norman Ellison Carpets in Onehunga.

EPMU assistant director of organising Strachan Crang says the government needs to support manufacturing if it's serious about protecting well paid, highly skilled jobs.

"This is the third major factory closure in as many weeks. It's time the government realised that its hands-off approach isn't working.

"Our members are already telling us they're looking overseas because they know they're going to struggle to find similar work in New Zealand.

"It's a sad fact that a lot of Kiwis are starting to see their future in Australia because there simply aren't enough skilled, highly paid jobs to keep people here.

"Unless the government is willing to step up with a plan to help manufacturing firms through the downturn we're just going to see more good jobs like these disappear."

All EPMU members affected by the job losses will receive a redundancy package as part of their collective agreement.

ENDS

For more information contact:

Strachan Crang, EPMU assistant director of organising: 027 590 0049
Neale Jones, EPMU communications director: 027 276 5146

In memory of Garth Malpas

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +1200

In memory of our dearly respected friend and comrade

Garth Ian Malpas

24.8.68 - 25.6.12

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

- Albert Einstein

Talley's AFFCO Dispute Update

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200

The New Zealand Meat Workers Union (MWU) has over 1300 workers in AFFCO meat plants located in the North Island: Moerewa, Horotiu (near Hamilton), Rangiuru (near Te Puke), Wairoa, Whanganui, and Feilding. It also has a membership in two small leather processing plants in Wiri (Auckland) and Napier.

AFFCO is owned by the Talley's Group. This is one of the biggest privately owned companies in New Zealand and the Talley family have interests in meat, dairy, fish and horticulture. Combined it employs up to 4500 New Zealand workers. The National Business Review rich list has the family wealth estimated at $300 million.

What are the issues?
Talleys /AFFCO workers are covered by a core collective agreement with site agreements determining additional terms and conditions. The core pay rates range from $13.48 to $15.76 per hour. On top of this workers are paid a rate based on the number of animals killed. If the "tally" for the day is reached, wages range from $27 to $31 per hour. The work is seasonal (2 to 11 months per year, with many short days and short weeks even during the season).

To secure wages set by tally, manning levels and tally rates are agreed. The company wants the right to change these unilaterally stating the need to manage the plants according to changing circumstances. The union has agreed they should manage the plant but want provisions in the agreement to continue to secure the large part of wages that are currently determined by tally and manning numbers. They agree that AFFCO should manage but not manipulate. The company is saying it won't use the changes to reduce pay but will not put this in writing, and there are issues over work intensification and health and safety in relation to line speeds.

Lockout and Strike
Around 1300 workers are either locked out or on strike. On 29th February after only 10 hours of negotiations for a new Collective Agreement, the company gave the MWU notice of an indefinite lockout for 770 of its 1300 members leaving the remaining to continue working. The MWU subsequently issued a number of limited days strike action for those remaining in the plants and these non-locked out workers have now been on an indefinite strike in support of those locked out in an effort to renew the collective agreement since 13th April.

As at 14 May, the locked out workers have been locked out for 77 days without pay. We estimate up to 5000 children are impacted by the lockout.

Bargaining Update
On Tuesday 8th May there was mediation after the prior day's facilitation. The mediation meeting was focused on whether or not the union and AFFCO could agree on a return to work agreement. The union would agree to a complete return to work (lifting strike action, and AFFCO lift the lockout), if they could get an agreement within a reasonable time frame (e.g. 1-2 weeks) with a fair process for who went back at each stage. However the company proposed a completely one-sided and final position which was unacceptable for a number of reasons including the strong likelihood that a large group of workers would remain locked out for a much longer period when Affco decided that one of their conditions for a return to work had not been met.

Shed meetings were held on 9th May and they resolved to support the rejection of the company proposal on a delayed return to work, and confirmed members willingness to lift strike action if there is a reasonable proposal on a timeframe and conditions for a complete return to work.

Affco Claims in Bargaining
Affco are maintaining an extreme bargaining position on changes they want in a new collective employment agreement: offer a return to work only on unreasonable conditions and with a lengthy timeframe and several tranches, and force workers desperate for their jobs to accept individual agreements entirely on Affco's terms. There is already a significant number of workers on such individual agreements (the company says it is now a majority).

In addition to prior claims, the company claims in a new document tabled now include:
• Remove seniority from the agreement and any right to be re-hired in the new season
• Have a 7 day roster and workers would have to work any time, any day
• Provide for the introduction of a system where people can be terminated if the employer determines that a worker should be, even without any misconduct that would justify dismissal.

The above proposal on termination includes this wording:
"shall also apply to any situation where the employer elects to terminate the union member's employment upon the grounds that irreconcilable differences exist between the employer and union member or the union member and another employee or employees or determines that the interest of the employer would be best served by terminating the union member's employment notwithstanding that the union member has not been guilty of any conduct or omission that would justify the dismissal upon the grounds of misconduct or poor performance".

Welfare
All plants have welfare committees and meat workers throughout the country along with other unions and the public are continuing to collect money for welfare. The CTU has again launched a public appeal, and have been holding discussions with unions over recent days about collections on jobs and increasing the level of fundraising.

Work and Income New Zealand have acknowledged that there is enough ambiguity about the status of the 300 so-called ‘unlocked' workers that they will resume any benefit entitlement these workers had prior to that advice from Affco. Fundraising is a huge priority right now.

Legal
The union arguing that the lock out is unlawful and has a date for the court case commencing on 16 May.

Broader Campaign
There are lots of other aspects to this campaign including international support, talking to consumers about Talley products, media, lobbying and providing briefings, and so on. There have been some very supportive statements from Iwi leaders and they intend to meet both with the union and Talley family members over the dispute. On 6 May a group of workers went to Nelson and Motueka to protest in the Talley's back yard. This had extensive media coverage and local support.

Further information - www.mwu.org.nz

Government review of health and safety needs to focus on how to achieve a strong worker voice

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200

How to achieve a strong and effective worker voice in workplace health and safety must be a critical objective of the Government's review of the country's health and safety law and regulations, says the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU).

"The Government is moving in the right direction with this review initiative and the news that it will be expanding the capacity of the health and safety inspectorate," says EPMU assistant national secretary, Ged O'Connell. "However we know that we have a serious issue when it comes to workers having real say in the day to day management of workplace health and safety."

"The current law and regulations are very weak in terms of giving workers the ability to deal with, and challenge, workplace dangers and unsafe behaviours. Many workers feel they can't speak out because of the fear of being intimidated and suffering repercussions from the boss," says Mr O'Connell.

The EPMU is concerned about the persistently high rate of accidents and death at work in New Zealand and to address this this, believes the management of workplace health and safety needs to be a true partnership between workers and their unions, employers and the government as regulator.

"The greatest barrier we face at present is that most of the power to manage and change workplace health and safety culture rests with employers, says Mr O'Connell. "Many workers feel that have no power to change what happens at work and therefore are often condemned to work in unsafe situations."

The EPMU's involvement with the Safe Rebuild Canterbury initiative - a partnership between the union, employers and government to address health and safety around the rebuild of Christchurch - is an example of what is possible if there is a willingness to work together to achieve safe jobs, says Mr O'Connell.

He says the EPMU will be supporting the Government review of health and safety on the basis there is a genuine and authentic desire to address workplace safety through giving workers real voice.

Union disappointed that more Christchurch jobs are heading north

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300

The union representing postal and logistics members, the EPMU, is disappointed that Christchurch is losing 40 jobs at a time when the region's economy is struggling.

The 40 warehouse jobs at Contract Logistics, a division of Express Couriers Limited (ECL), are moving north after the company lost a Postie Plus warehousing and distribution contract to an Auckland-based firm. Contract Logistics had held the contract for the last five years and was running a dedicated warehouse operation in Christchurch for Postie Plus.

"We know how hard it is for Christchurch people currently and the news that they are to lose 40 jobs is a real blow," says Anna Kenny, EPMU National Postal and Logistics Organiser. "I would have thought that Postie Plus would have shown more commitment to maintaining its connection with Christchurch at this time."

Contract Logistics has said it will attempt to redeploy as many of the warehouse staff as possible, but expects that there will be some redundancies. EPMU members have negotiated a collective agreement with Contract Logistics providing redundancy entitlements.

"The EPMU will be working closely with our affected members and the company to get the best outcomes for members given the circumstances," says Anna Kenny.

Former Pike CEO's role as safety consultant insensitive

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +1300

Former Pike River CEO Peter Whittall's role as a mine safety consultant is insensitive to the families of the Pike 29 and a slap in the face to the mining community, says the Union that represents miners.

Despite facing multiple charges relating to the Pike River mine disaster, Peter Whittall has set up a business to advise the minerals industry on management, technical and safety matters.

"Miners are very practical and safety conscious people. They will want to know the outcome of Pike River inquiry, what happened in the mine and who was responsible for what happened. We would have expected someone with a history in mining to understand and respect that," says EPMU assistant national secretary, Ged O'Connell.

"The EPMU has deep concerns over what happened at Pike River and for the future direction of mine safety across our mining industry. It's inappropriate and a slap in the face for the mining community to have Peter Whittall advising mine management on safety while the Department of Labour case against him is still pending," says Mr O'Connell.

In Memory of Phillip Cottrell

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +1300

By Christine Gounder, Radio New Zealand Journalist.

We pay tribute to EMPU member Phillip Cottrell, a Bulletins Editor at Radio NZ who was murdered on December 10th in Wellington.

Phil, as he is known to colleagues, was walking to his home on Victoria street, when he was attacked on Boulcott Street early on Saturday morning.

He was a well respected part of the Bulletins team and was leading the fight to get proper recognition and respect for Bulletin Editors at Radio NZ.

Phil had many friends and he will be sadly missed by them and by everyone at RNZ and the EPMU.

Union confident about health and safety systems at Huntly coalmine

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +1300

The union representing miners at Solid Energy's Huntly East operation, the EPMU, is confident there are good systems in place for health and safety management at the underground coalmine.

Solid Energy is holding a public meeting in Huntly this afternoon to outline what is happening at the mine in response to concerns about possible health and safety breaches involving gas levels. An EPMU official and union members will also be attending the meeting.

"We're not aware of any complaints of the order of a Pike River-like health and safety situation at Huntly East," says Ged O'Connell, EPMU assistant national secretary. "We are aware of a recent event that has led to an investigation by Solid Energy and the Department of Labour."

The EPMU is strongly advocating for better mine safety and stronger regulation in the wake of the 2010 Pike River coalmine disaster in which 29 miners were killed.

"We are confident that Solid Energy is not a Pike operation and there's a much higher level of accountability and responsibility because it is a state owned enterprise," says O'Connell. "There's also a large amount of across-the-board experience and knowledge of underground coal mining at Huntly, unlike Pike River where there was very little. However, one pressure point that's developing is the loss of experienced miners to Australia who are attracted by better pay and conditions."

O'Connell says the EPMU is recognised by Solid Energy as playing an integral role in mine safety at Huntly and has strong network of union health and safety representatives, delegates and officials working with the company to constantly monitor and improve health and safety systems.

"However, while we have a good level of engagement with Solid Energy we are still advocating at the national level for a world's best practice approach to underground mining safety where we'd have the three-legged stool of excellent regulations, a highly competent and effective government inspectorate and worker-elected mine check inspectors," says O'Connell.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare workers fail to reach agreement in mediation

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +1200

Nearly 900 Fisher and Paykel Healthcare workers still face the prospect of taking industrial action this week at the company's Highbrook plant following the failure to reach a new collective agreement in mediation.

F & P Healthcare production, maintenance and distribution workers, who are organised by the EPMU and NDU, have lodged a strike notice to take effect on Wednesday. The parties were unable to agree on a new agreement at an all-day mediation hearing at the end of last week.

EPMU Director of Organising, Rachel Mackintosh, says the Unions are still open to negotiating a fair and reasonable settlement with management that would avert the strike action.

Former EPMU delegate working for Pasefika in Christchurch

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +1200

A former EPMU delegate has landed a plum job helping Pasefika communities in Christchurch deal with the impacts of the earthquakes.

Lana Afu is the new Earthquake Support Coordinator for Pacific Trust Canterbury, a non-profit organisation based in Christchurch providing health, social and educational service to the city's Pasefika communities. Lana was previously a delegate at Reachmedia Limited, a subsidiary company of NZ Post.

"We are thrilled to see Lana move on to a very important role in the city. Lana has been an inspirational Pasefika delegate, recently attending the CTU Pasefika Forum in Auckland," says EPMU Christchurch-based organiser, Helen Lawrence. "After eight years with us we wish Lana well but I'm sure we will continue to work together through the post quake re-structuring in Christchurch."

Lana's new role will see her helping households directly affected by the earthquakes - those whom have relocated while their homes are rebuilt and those that think they may have to relocate.

"It's very overwhelming working with the Christchurch communities and it's an eye opener for me as I have come from a structured environment to an ‘on the go, no two days are the same' environment," says Lana.