Printing workers refuse overtime due to employment condition

21 March 2014

Printing workers refuse overtime until employment conditions are restored

Workers covered by the collective agreement at Blue Star Print Group will not work any overtime from Monday 24 March, after bargaining broke down.

The company is attempting to claw back the workers’ current terms and conditions of employment, including paving the way for the anti-union provisions of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill.

“The workers at Blue Star aren’t demanding anything extreme,” says Joe Gallagher, EPMU national organiser for communications. “All they want is to continue to work on the same basis they always have, with decent provisions for overtime and their fundamental work rights protected.”

The overtime ban will continue until an agreement is reached.

Blue Star Print Group operates a number of companies throughout New Zealand. The companies involved in this dispute are Format, Nicholson Print, Printlink, McCollam Print and Panprint.

The workers are based in Auckland and Wellington and cover pre-press, printing, bindery, logistics, and stores.

ENDS

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