Air New Zealand appeals to unions for more mediation

14 December, 2005

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Air New Zealand appeals to unions for more mediation

Air New Zealand has asked the EPMU and AMEA to meet for another day of mediation this week, after two days of mediation Monday and Tuesday. The unions have agreed and this means an Employment Relations Authority investigation scheduled for Wednesday 14 November will be adjourned. Air New Zealand plans to announce its decision on the proposal to make 617 engineering staff redundant on Monday.

CCN strikes reach double figures

Central Community News workers took strike action on Monday across the company’s production division after rejecting an offer last week. This is the tenth strike taken against the Fairfax-owned company since negotiations started in June. See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

Capital Community Newspapers end 7-day strike

Capital Community Newspaper workers ended a seven day strike on Wednesday morning: the sixth strike the workers have taken since negotiations broke down in August. EPMU organiser Tali Williams says the members are sick of management’s behaviour: “The company’s part of Australian newspaper giant APN, which turns over billions of dollars a year but won’t give a handful of really badly paid journalists a decent living wage. This represents a cowardice and greed unusual even for an Australian multinational. I can’t believe they want to take so much money out of New Zealand and still treat Kiwi workers like dirt.” says Williams.

Fisher & Paykel workers to be made redundant

Up to 80 Fisher & Paykel workers will be made redundant next year as the company closes one area of its Auckland whiteware plant. The bulk of the redundancies are occurring in the plant’s refrigeration parts division and follow the announcement that  Fisher & Paykel will be opening a US plant in Ohio to service its growing American market. “Manufacturers like Fisher & Paykel face transporting their goods 14,000 miles,” says EPMU organiser Maurice Davis, “and it appears they are not getting much support in terms of a proper plan for manufacturing in this country.” See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

Worker concerns produce open letter to James Hardie management

Workers at the James Hardie building products production site in Auckland have sent an open letter to management to express their concern that the company wants to use untrained, unskilled workers to perform the work of striking workers. The letter concludes, “We are genuinely concerned that long standing health and safety practices are being discarded in the interests of profit and that someone will be hurt.” See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

Walk-out at Avalon: Good Morning off the air

Staff at TVNZ’s Avalon Studio have walked off the job twice this week, taking the Good Morning programme off the air. Some 60 members of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union and the Public Service Association walked out at 9am on Tuesday and Thursday in a dispute over pay and conditions. They are angry that the state-owned broadcaster, which has repeatedly told the public and Parliament that it is in a strong financial position, is telling them that it can’t afford to give them a decent pay rise. See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

Hawke’s Bay Today strike spreads

A six-day strike by journalists at the APN-owned Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper has spread to printers. Twenty-nine editorial staff have been on strike since last Wednesday in protest over the failure to settle their collective employment agreement, which expired on March 24 this year. See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

Ion Automotive workers face Xmas redundancies

Around two hundred workers at Ion Automotive face redundancy after a buyer for the Australian-run factory could not be found.  The company which supplies Ford with Alloy wheels was put under Australian administration last year when its Aussie parent company went into receivership.  This week Ford cancelled its contract with the company leading to two hundred immediate redundancies with the rest of the workforce facing job loss next year.Various parties have been trying to find a buyer for the plant for some time but without success.  EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little says the situation highlights the need for a manufacturing strategy for New Zealand that is supported by the government.  He Says the union will continue to campaign for such a strategy.

New Zealand fails to measure occupational disease

A report released on Monday by the National Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Committee (NOHSAC) says that the recording of occupational disease in New Zealand fails to meet international standards.
“It is unacceptable that the various agencies responsible for occupational safety and health in the workplace are unable to accurately measure how many New Zealanders are dying or being seriously injured at work,” says the chair of NOHSAC, Professor Neil Pearce. See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

Nelson Transfield workers get fired up for action

Transfield electrical line maintenance workers in Nelson will take strike action for 24 hours on Friday. Starting from midnight Thursday, 25 members will walk off the job. This steps up action from an overtime ban by all Transfield members across the country. “The members in Nelson are pretty fired up,” says EPMU organiser Alan Clarence, “you have to be to strike this close to Christmas. They’re just sick of the way they’re being treated and the want to give the company a smack on the nose.”

Aussie unions promise retribution at the ballot box

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has vowed to spend up to AUS$8 million in the next Australian general election, targeting 33 electorates of MPs who voted for the controversial “WorkChoice” industrial relations legislation.
The Howard Government successfully passed its “WorkChoice” legislation through the Australian Senate by 35 votes to 33, after Australian National Party senator Barnaby Joyce secured what he claimed was a significant concessions in the legislation over employers’ powers to sack workers who refused to work “iconic public holidays” like Christmas Day. See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

SFWU strike at Casino

Service and Food Workers Union members at Hamilton’s Sky city Casino went on strike last Friday after rejecting a two per cent offer from the gambling chain which included a management claim for “flexitime” - a roster system that would see workers’ hours fluctuating dramatically from week to week. “Work-life balance is a huge issue - the company demands flexibility without caring what the impact is on peoples lives,” says Nga Ringa Tota Northern Region secretary Lisa Eldret. See www.epmu.org.nz for more.

Newsweek takes a break

This is the last issue of Newsweek for 2005. We will begin publishing again in the first week of February 2006. Thanks for your support and continued feedback. See you next year.
But the union carries on
While the union officially closes down between Thursday 22 December and Monday 23 January, duty organisers in each region will still be available throughout the holiday period. Also, the EPMU Union Support Centre will be available to take calls on 0800 186 466.

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Authorised: Andrew Little EPMU National Secretary

For information and assistance call the EPMU Union Support Centre on 0800 186 466