4 March 2016

Workers plan protest against wage gap at Invercargill Pak’n Save

Workers and supporters from the Invercargill community are taking to the protest line as the owner-operator of Pak’n Save Invercargill refuses to negotiate new pay rates for workers, nearly of all whom earn up to $2 less than their colleagues in North Island supermarkets.

“There’s no excuse for the wage gap between South Island Pak’n Save workers and North Island Pak’n Save workers,” says FIRST Union’s Invercargill-based organiser Ken Young.

“Goods in South Island Pak’n Saves cost just as much as goods in North Island Pak’n Saves, but North Island workers are paid more. This means South Island bosses are taking a greater share of the profits and doing so at the workers’ expense.”

“The fair thing to do is lift pay to bring Invercargill workers to the same wage rate as North Island workers, but the owner-operator is digging in his heels and refusing to negotiate.”

“That’s called greed,” says Young.

Young also says that workers’ hours often change from week to week with little notice making planning family time difficult.

“As part of our protest against this deliberate wage gap that South Island supermarket owners have created we’ll be bringing a giant inflatable rat.”

The protest will take place outside Invercargill Pak’n Save on the 5th and 6th of March starting at 11.00am to 1.00pm on both days.

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