Down the road without a bean

Down the road without a bean

An Auckland firm has sacked workers with decades of service without a bean in compensation.

Warehouse supervisor Rob Highsted is one of about a dozen workers at TA MacAllister laid off without a redundancy payment because of a downturn in business.

“I feel bitter,” he says.

“The warehouse in this company has been my baby – I was proud at how well I made it work, then they just say ‘piss off’. Its 20 years of my life down the toilet.”

Rob says another couple with 40 years service between them has also been shown the door without so much as a thank you from the company.

National Distribution Union Transport, Energy and Stores Secretary Karl Andersen says the situation these workers find themselves in is all too familiar.

“This is a perfect example of why we need legislation making redundancy payments compulsory,” he says.

“Its not good enough for company owners and shareholders to stack away the profits in the good times then plead poverty and lay workers off without compensation when things get a bit tough.”

The NDU is calling on all political parties to support Labour MP Darien Fenton’s redundancy protection bill which has its first reading in Parliament this Wednesday.

ENDS

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