February 10, 2004
Media Release
Mass stopwork in Auckland
Manufacturing workers plan industrial strategy
Momentum is building in the country’s most significant industrial round, with hundreds of workers due to stop work in
Auckland tomorrow.
The Metals and Manufacturing Industries Collective Agreement is due for renegotiation this month.
The agreement covers workers at more than 200 companies, and is acknowledged as setting the going rate across the
manufacturing sector.
Workers covered by the agreement are holding stopwork meetings around the country to set claims and plan their
negotiating strategy. A meeting in Wellington last week attracted more than 400 workers, with a similar number turning
out in Christchurch in November.
The agreement is negotiated between the workers’ union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, and the
Employers’ and Manufacturers’ Association, and keenly followed by thousands of workers and employers. Talks are due to
start on February 24.
Tomorrow’s meeting will be held at Alexandra Park Raceway at 2pm in the Delightful Lady Lounge.
Ends