Cryovac workers beat wage freeze decree

6 November, 2009

EPMU members at Cryovac Sealed Air in Porirua have beaten a company-imposed wage freeze, winning a 2% pay rise as a result of industrial action.

The industrial action involved 130 workers at the packaging company, and involved a work to rule order, an overtime ban and a refusal to provide cover for absent staff.

Members also won a daily supervisor's allowance and removed the cap on pay increases for workers who acquire new skills.

EPMU organiser Mark James says the pay increase shows the importance of workers standing together through their union.

"This is a large multi-national company that could easily afford to give its workers a fair and reasonable pay increase, and we're glad the company came to see this as well.

"The fact is there's no excuse for companies that are making a healthy profit to simply impose a wage freeze on their workforce. Our members at Cryovac have shown that if we stand together through our unions we can demand a better deal."

The union also managed to scale back planned cuts to rosters for workers who wanted to keep their hours.

"The company had proposed reducing the number of weeks on roster during the meat season to due to the declining number of lambs on farms," says James.

"This reduction in hours would have meant a 6.7% decrease in earnings for workers in the bag plant. The settlement reached gives workers the opportunity to mitigate that loss of work by picking up additional hours if they wish."

In 2008 Cryovac Sealed Air made a net profit of $5.9 million. In the first seven months of 2009 the company posted a net profit of $6 million.