Hutt Valley Health tactics divisive

Workers at Hutt Valley Health have rejected a two-year offer of 3.5 followed by 2.5 per cent because it doesn’t even meet the expected increase in the cost of living over that period.

Negotiations for the agreement, which cover engineering and stores workers at Hutt Valley Hospital, have been going for the last two months, have involved both the EPMU and the National Distribution Union but are currently at a stage where the employer has made a split offer providing more for NDU members than EPMU members.

EPMU organiser Tali Williams describes the split offer as just plain divisive: "This employer doesn’t even have the grace to offer up an increase that will cover the cost of living for our members and then they try to drive this wedge between the two unions on site."

Williams says the members have thoroughly rejected the offer and are now considering where they take the negotiations next.