Chch workers join wages campaign

More than 2000 workers turned out in Christchurch this afternoon to support the Fair Share – Five in ’05 campaign.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union rally, at Addington raceway, drew strong support from working people determined to win a decent pay rise this year. It comes on the heels of a similar rally in Auckland yesterday, attended by more than 3000 workers.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little said that the rallies sent a strong signal to employers that workers were not going to be messed around.

“Working people are quietly determined to win a fair share of the economic boom, and will do what is necessary to achieve that,” he said.

The rally comes as advocates in the key Metals agreement prepare to return to the negotiating table in Auckland tomorrow.

The Metals and Manufacturing Industries multi-employer collective agreement is the country’s largest and most influential private-sector industrial document. Metals workers at the Christchurch meeting today voted to join their Auckland colleagues in industrial action next week if the dispute over pay rates in the agreement is not settled.

Meanwhile, workers at Morgan Furniture in Auckland returned to work today after a one-day strike yesterday. Mr Little said that that dispute would go to mediation tomorrow.

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