L’Oreal orders staff not to speak to media about strike

L’Oreal’s distribution workers take strike to yearly product sale

Brand conscious international beauty company L’Oreal has ordered staff not to speak to the media about a strike today saying the media is “persistent”, “persuasive” and “seducing”.

National Distribution Union organiser Luke Coxon says he’s not surprised by the company’s media directive as the high-brow company doesn’t want its savvy customers knowing the company is paying its workers below industry standards.

Distribution workers at the company’s Auckland head office will be holding their picket on the corner of Hugo Johnston Drive and Church Street in Penrose from 12.00 noon today.

The workers will then take their picket around the corner to L’Oreal’s yearly corporate product sale at the Maurice Road entrance of Mt Smart Stadium at 2.45pm.

Coxon says the company’s offer isn’t pretty.

“L’Oreal is currently paying their distribution workers around $13 an hour when the workers would earn up to $5 more an hour around the corner at the Supply Chain distribution centre,” he said. “We are only asking for a minimum rate of $15 an hour for existing staff but instead the company has offered a worthless new pay scale which they wouldn’t even introduce until next year.”

Mr Coxon says staff have made a complaint to the company’s CEO about Human Resource manager Jeff Lewis who called the distribution worker’s work demeaning.

ENDS

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