[APWSLMembers 342] Lock out at supermarket warehouses in Aotearoa / New Zealand

[John Maynard]

Dear APWSL friends

Those of you who attended the 1999 APWSL Council Meeting in Colombo Sri
Lanka will remember Dion Martin from APWSL Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Dion is an organiser with the National Distribution Union in Palmerston
North (a city 150kms north of the capital Wellington).

One of the union sites which Dion organises has been involved in a major
industrial dispute for two weeks.

The Australian owned Progressive Enterprises owns three warehouses in New
Zealand (in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch) to supply its
supermarkets throughout New Zealand. The company had previously broken up
the single collective agreement which covered three warehouses in the three
cities.

Two weeks ago 600 workers at the company's three supermarket warehouses went
on strike for two days to fight to return to one Collective Employment
Agreement for the three warehouses.

The company wants to keep three seperate agreements.

After the two day strike, the company responded by locking the workers out
until they drop their demand to negotiate one collective agreement for the
three sites.  The workers have now been locked out for twelve days.

The support for these workers is growing across the country and now also from unions in Australia.  Many unions
are making donations, and giving support at the picket lines.

Although some workers have returned to work at one site, most of the workers at that site at
are standing strong. The two other sites remain

You can email Dion and the workers at dmartin at nduunion.org.nz

Or you can text Dion at 64 21 776 029.



John Maynard
APWSL Aoteaoa/New Zealand

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