E tū and FIRST Union members at Auckland air conditioning and ventilation manufacturing plant Temperzone, are set to picket near the premises on Monday.

Many workers had to use up their leave or take leave in advance during the lockdown, and they now face selection scores for possible redundancy.

At the picket, members and their families will hand out flyers to the public to explain how they’ve been treated by the company during COVID-19 alerts.

It is also expected to be the first physically distanced community picket in the country.

E tū delegate Pena Tamamasui says workers are picketing because they’ve “had enough of being disrespected at work”.

“The company used our leave and only applied for the subsidy a week ago, after they proposed to cut up to 85 of our jobs.”

Last week, workers received letters confirming their selection scores for redundancy, and they feel Temperzone is not listening to their feedback or engaging in good faith.

“Our community and the public needs to know how we’ve been treated and that it’s not on. We all need to do our bit so New Zealand recovers, and our community needs to know Temperzone isn’t,” Pena says.

E tū is calling for New Zealand to rebuild better as a nation, and that means keeping New Zealand manufacturing jobs for our communities.

Rebuilding better also means workers’ wages leading our recovery, E tū Team Leader Jen Natoli says.

“Everyone should get 100% of their normal pay – instead of seeing their leave used and weekly income reduced to the point of wondering how they will put food on the table for their families,” Jen says.

“By putting money in people’s pockets, we make sure that goods and services are kept in demand in all our local communities, keeping businesses thriving – that’s how our economy will recover.”

Workers will picket in non-work time, still working their hours as expected.

Members will be picketing from 6am-8am on the corner of Massey Rd and Tidal Rd in Mangere

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