E tū welcomes win for Tiwai smelter workers
28th April, 2016
Media Release
E tū welcomes multi-million dollar win for Tiwai smelter workers
The E tū union has welcomed a Court of Appeal ruling which brings to an end a four-year dispute over in-lieu payments for statutory holidays at the Tiwai Aluminium Smelters.
Hundreds of workers at the smelter are eligible for millions of dollars in leave and pay arrears in the wake of the ruling.
Since 1992, workers on 12 hour shifts have been paid in-lieu payments for Statutory Holidays of only 8 hours.
The union challenged the payments in November 2011, arguing workers should receive 12 hours pay, not eight.
The union took the case to mediation, and later to the Employment Relations Authority, which ruled in its favour. New Zealand Aluminium Smelters then appealed the ERA decision to the Employment Court, which also ruled in the union’s favour.
NZAS applied for leave to the Court of Appeal to appeal the Employment Court decision. It was granted the appeal, but their case was dismissed by the court. It then applied to the Supreme Court to appeal the Court of Appeal decision.
E tū scored its final victory after the Supreme Court declined the company leave for the smelter to appeal to the court.
The win is expected to benefit hundreds of workers who worked the 12 hour shifts. Those still working for the company will receive leave allocations of up to six months, though it is uncertain if they will be able to cash these up.
Workers who have left the company will be eligible for cash pay outs of their leave entitlements.
E tū Organiser, Trevor Hobbs says he’s extremely pleased with the judgement.
He says the company has come to the end of the Appeal process and “there is nowhere else for them to go.
“All the way through, the company said we’re right and you’re wrong. Well, now it’s been proved that we were right and they were wrong.”
He says workers’ employment agreements forbid them talking to the media but he’s been receiving congratulatory emails and texts since the judgement was released last night.
ENDS