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Affco workers protest at Talley family mansion

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Affco workers protest

3News NZ

Delegates from the two sides will meet for facilitation talks later today

Delegates from the two sides will meet for facilitation talks later today

Striking meat workers employed by Affco are to take their industrial dispute to the owners of the company today when they march on the Talley family's South Island home.

A delegation of workers and union officials intend going to the Talley family mansion outside Motueka.

The long-running dispute at eight of Affco's North Island plants has seen more than 1000 workers locked out, and others on strike.

Thirty-three locked-out Affco meatworkers are heading south to Motueka today to try and talk with the company's owners about their hardships.

There are currently around 1000 unionised workers locked out of the company's North Island plants, following strike action and failed mediation attempts.

Aotearoa Meat Workers Union Secretary Graham Cook says the Talleys, who own Affco, need to take some responsibility for their company's actions:

"These families that are being hurt at the moment have no absolutely no say in what their collective employment agreement should look like.

"The Talley family are essentially saying to the workers of Affco they can't even have a union on site."

Delegates from the two sides will meet for facilitation talks later today.

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Comments

10/05/2012 11:54:41 a.m.

staffe wrote:

Hey Anges! newsflash, no one has asked any union members to sign an IEA, read what has been said by Eastlake, AFFCO have unlocked several workers already and will continue to do so, however, 99% who have been unlocked wish to strike. There is freedom of speech for both sides however, it seems the union are the only ones who are allowed to have this freedom of speech. Agnes, I am not sure where you are coming from with your statement, and who really are the bullies in all this collective talks? The bullies are the strikers at the gate of each plant, slinging personal abuse at workers, staff and security. The threats being made against our homes and families by union members while we arrive and leave for work. The non union workers don't protest or picket outside your front doors. come on give it a rest union and get back to work. The feeling from non union, and union workers currently working is that we don't want the union workers back at all, the longer they stay striking the longer we get to work, and our families are getting more treats. So union stay HARD because as a non union worker I love it that your striking and the atmosphere at work is so much happier and enjoyable!Stay Hard union please!!!!!!!!!

9/05/2012 7:37:00 p.m.

Mike wrote:

We can see Union 'Freedom of Speech' and how it has worked at every other major meat processor previously ...

Oh Wait? What Meat Processors? The Unions were sucessful there and closed down the factories as its better for union memmbers to not work at all than do a days work. The union has never negotiated in good faith and never worked for the workers. The union has protected the druggies, the drunkards and every lazy members who can't hold down a job? Why? They have also protected theft/discrimination in the workplace, defended urination in BBQ's and other behaviour I wouldn't accept from a pet dog!

Affco wants a safer working enviroment, and that includes testing for junkies and staff turning up too drunk to work who are a health risk and saftey risk.

Take the report today on the Tourism Plane crash which the pilot didn't check or understand balancing their aircraft? It also had 2 instructors in the plane under the influence of weed - ie if the plane had gotten up to have the tourists parachute out, they would have been in the sub-standard care of two junkies, and if anything happened, their doped reactions would be inferior to that of no THC in their systems.

Meat Processing has high rates of ACC claims and high ACC fees for accidents in the workplace. The union is saying saftey doesn't matter and union memebrs who are unsafe due to alcohol and drugs is okay, while Talleys is saying it isn't okay? Who is caring more about the workers? True, Talleys has a vested interest as the Labour Department will jump on any business that has preventable accidents. We dont need junkies and drunks in the workplace putting their own lives and others at risk.

Talleys asks no more than any responsible business in NZ.

If unions think they can do better, lets its members give up smoking, save a few $$ and they could buy their own meat processing plant, and lets see them run it better!

8/05/2012 2:23:36 p.m.

agnes wrote:

Hey Staffe you need to get in the real world yourself as I can see you bowing down to these brutal owners who have no regard what so ever for workers rights. This is not about a drug problem in the workplace, talleys have only emphasized this I see on the close up program last night. That is only a cover up from the real problem talleys have created. The lockout out workers have refused to return as they will not be forced into signing there IEA contracts and refuse to be bullied by talleys. There is a thing called freedom of speech in this country and the right to fair working conditions. If the workers can't have this, then there is something seriously wrong with this country, we are looking back at the 50's. So Staffe, Bluey, and Mike need to get off whatever planet there on and put there thinking caps back on.

7/05/2012 3:28:59 p.m.

Staffe wrote:

WILLARDNZ - I have been in the meat industry and still working for 15yrs now and there definitely needs to be a change. I have worked next to druggies, drunks and people who simply just don't want to turn up for work. So who has had the hardship for so long! Workers like myself who have turned up everyday to work, worked hard laid off because of senority for the first 5 years of being in the meat industry. The union protect those people who do the most damage. How about us! I have made the choice to work, and will continue to work. I have had no trouble from the company and I have been paid reasonably well. These freezing workers who are striking need to get jobs in the real world where people work their butts off and only earn $13.50 per hour then they will realise just how well off we really are!!!!!!!

7/05/2012 12:33:57 p.m.

baz wrote:

as we all now in the south island talleys have created a very large fishing busness by paying very low wages and are fulling there factorys up with cheap overseas lobour which will be the end result of all there feazing works no different to the tv program the serpranos

7/05/2012 11:04:13 a.m.

Erm... wrote:

Unions expect more money for less work when companies are struggling. This can only lead to less jobs when companies fail. Idiocy, but no more than you'd expect from them.

7/05/2012 10:52:13 a.m.

willardnz wrote:

for the likes of Staffe and Bluey....WE the ones who were unlocked voted to strike in solidarity with the remaining locked out workers...Talleys offered to stagger back the workers with no promises they would bring all back...they Locked out over a 1000 workers at the same time, they can return all of us at the same time, simple really! No Way will I cross the picket line while my fellow union members are stilled locked out..it's called PRINCIPLES...something alot of NZer's lack these days!

7/05/2012 10:46:44 a.m.

willardnz wrote:

The Talijancich's have done well out of my country! And they treat working class New Zealander's in this way...SHAME on the Talijanich's

7/05/2012 10:29:51 a.m.

Ray wrote:

Would the media be totally OK with management picketing workers houses to get them back to work?

7/05/2012 9:56:28 a.m.

? wrote:

A duh they have been locked out