Plastics workers fight wage freeze

November 9, 2009
Media Release

Plastics workers fight wage freeze

Three hundred plastics industry workers have started nationwide industrial action including go slows and overtime bans today after their employers attempted to impose a wage freeze.

The workers are negotiating the Plastics Multi Employer Collective Agreement and the industrial action is taking place at Viscount, VIP, Premier, Iplex, Alto and Calvert Plastics.

EPMU national plastics industry organiser Rachel Mackintosh says it is unsurprising that members have decided to take industrial action.

“These are not well paid workers, in fact a recent union survey of the industry showed that forty five percent of them spend half of their income or more on rent or mortgages; they simply can’t afford to have their employers freeze their pay.

“Taking industrial action isn’t an easy choice for workers on or near the minimum wage because it costs money and money is already tight, but the proposed wage freeze would mean a pay cut after the cost of living is taken into account and that’s a prospect our members are not willing to wear.

“This is an industry with long-term investment including public money and many of the companies involved in this dispute are now having to employ temporary labour and offer overtime to meet demand.

“If our members don’t see some genuine movement from the employer parties this dispute could spread to other plastics firms.”

The EPMU represents 45,000 working New Zealanders including more than 3000 workers in the plastics industry.

ENDS

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