Talley’s war against workers
Via
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From
an AFFCO Union Member’s wife
This
is what I know . . .
Over
18 months ago AFFCO/Talleys Meat Workers Union members asked for
their existing collective contract to roll over along with a meagre
1.5 % pay increase. Talleys refused to sign off the Collective
Employment Contract and fucked around until their buddies in the
National government passed a new law allowing them to walk away from
negotiations. Although it’s hardly negotiations when you are only
asking to be able to carry on as is.
Union
members (2012 Lock Out survivors and brave new souls) knew they were
in for a shit time this year and fully expect to be forced on to
Individual Contracts or find themselves without a job.
My
husband started working for AFFCO Moerewa at the age of 18 and he’s
been there for 22 years.
He’s
one of the “old hands” at the plant, all of whom are union
members. They go to work every day, they work hard and they take a
home a decent enough wage to keep their whanau in warm homes, kai on
the table and plenty of school and sport club fundraising ticking
over.
See that’s the thing about this particular crew, they are
also our rugby coaches, club captains, club volunteers, school board
members, kohanga helpers, marae helpers, family farm helpers, kai
moana gatherers, the ones who are always called to cut up beef for
tangi, the ones who collect the kids and mokopuna from the school
gates.
They are not just loving, dedicated whanau members, they are
“community” members as well in every sense of the word. And all
they want is to work and to not have any of their rights as workers
eroded each year.
This
weekend delegates were summoned to Auckland by Talleys in a last
ditch effort to prevent the strike and march on parliament that was
to occur today and tomorrow. The only catch was that union officials
were prevented from attending. So the same hard working whanau
members accepted the burden of going up against the corporations and
making the best decision on behalf of their mates back home.
And
they did this, talks took place, negotiations happened and they came
home to tell their work mates the strike was called off. The general
feeling was one of relief along with the knowledge that this was not
over but a reprieve for now. Like I said, this was a huge burden for
the delegates and they did right by their mates.
Within
hours AFFCO Moerewa phoned each union member to tell them they are
now on night shift. A night shift that has been hastily set up for
the sole purpose of demoralising and destabilising union members. A
night shift that union members were threatened with when they
declared they would strike.
A
night shift that takes seasoned workers away from their families
every night and one that makes their community work a whole lot
harder. Not impossible because they will carry on but just a whole
lot harder on them and their whanau.
A
night shift that sees many mums now doing sports runs, tea time
crazy, homework, bath and bed time on their own. A night shift that
takes the fight down to the kids who won’t see their dad’s
tonight.
So
to Talleys and AFFCO Moerewa - I hope it rains and the farmers hold
on to their cows for the duration of your night shift you cold
hearted arseholes.
Kia
kaha union whanau, stay strong!!
(pic
taken from 2012 strike)
Talley’s threaten Helen Kelly
Back in
2012, Talley’s led a brutal and despicable lockout of workers that
saw 5000 children go hungry!
4
August, 2015
I
loath the way Talley’s treat their staff and threaten Union
leaders…
…let
us remind everyone of the disgusting tactics Talley’s used in their
2012 strike.
Back
in 2012, Talley’s led a brutal and despicable lockout of workers
that saw 5000 children go hungry!
Affco were a
corporate making $20 million in profits in 2012, and were taken over
by Talley’s who are worth $300 million and yet they used
hunger as a negotiating tactic to crush their workers.
To
use the 5000 children who were reliant on those jobs as
collateral damage makes Affco and Talley’s nothing but scum.
They redefined
locked out workers as strikers so that those hundreds of families
were no longer eligible for the emergency benefit, this was on
purpose.
How
they sleep at night at how this Government
decided to knight Peter Talley is just more evidence of how
the mainstream media allow this attack on working people to go
unchallenged.
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