Press release: Meat Workers Union

Thursday 5 April at 12.45pm

Hearing Date Set For Meat Union Lockout Injunction

The Employment Court Chief Judge today set down April 23 and 24 to hear the Meat Workers Union's claim that the Talley's Affco lockout is unlawful.

Meat Workers Union General Secretary Dave Eastlake says the union is seeking a permanent injunction against the unlawful lockout, more than five weeks of lost wages for 1,000 locked out workers and court costs.

“For a lockout to be lawful, it must be around bargaining claims,” he says. “Talley's AFFCO made it clear their initial lockout was to punish workers for taking court action to protect existing work conditions the company was ignoring. Talley's is using the lockout to persuade the union to drop its legal actions and to pressure workers to leave the union and accept individual agreements."

Mr Eastlake says the company locked out families and the small rural communities and businesses that rely on their incomes after only 10 hours of face-to-face negotiations.

"While the lockout is causing tremendous hardship, workers are showing solidarity and determination and community support is growing”.

In 2009 Talley's illegally locked out workers at their Open Country Cheese plant to get them to leave a recently joined union. Despite the court forcing Talley's to pay workers their lost wages, the company still refused to let the dairy workers go back to work.

Dispute time line:

Since November 2011, the Meat Workers Union and Talley's AFFCO have only met for 10 hours of face-to-face negotiations, including at mediation where the company says it only attended because it was legally required to.

February 29: Talley's first indefinite, partial lock out affects 750 AFFCO workers at five of its eight AFFCO plants in Moerewa, Horotiu, Wairoa, Feilding and Whanganui.

March 7: 250 workers locked out at a sixth plant in Rangiuru, near Te Puke, bringing the total number of locked out workers to 1,000. The company previously said it wouldn't lock out any more workers.

March 30: Talley's announces it will lock out a further 500 workers over Easter, including workers at the Wiri and Napier AFFCO tanneries for the first time. The company agrees to a union request to attend mediation on April 12 at the same time as announcing the Easter lockout.

April 5 – 10: 500 workers will be locked out over Easter for striking in solidarity with locked out family members and workmates. Workers at the Wiri and Napier AFFCO tanneries will be locked out for the first time.

April 12: The parties will attend mediation.

April 23 and 24: The Meat Workers Union will challenge the legality of the company's lockout.

ENDS

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