Tegel workers beat wage freeze, win 3+3+3

13 November, 2009

Workers at Tegel in Christchurch and Taranaki have won an across the board wage increase worth 9.23% over three years.

The deal comes after months of bargaining in which the company held strongly to a wage freeze position right until the beginning of September.

EPMU lead organiser Phil Knight says the 3+3+3 settlement is a great deal in the current economic climate and demonstrates the importance of collective action.

"This has been a very long set of negotiations but our members' determination has finally paid off.

"The first step was to settle Christchurch and after six months of on again, off again negotiations we managed to get Tegel to reluctantly agree to a deal of 2% in the first year, 3% in the second year and the greater of 3% or CPI for the third.

"We had the company make a commitment that any superior terms on other agreements would be passed on, and thanks to the great work of Blair McFarlane and the Taranaki membership we managed to lift the deal to 3+3+3 for all Tegel workers nationwide.

"It just goes to show how important it is for unionists to work together on a national level, this is a great deal that provides good increases and security for our members in very uncertain economic times."

The EPMU represents around 350 members at Tegel.