Community rallies around Yarrows

3 June 2011

Yarrows Bakery is still operating, despite going into receivership, and the beleaguered firm is receiving strong support from workers and the wider community.

The Yarrows factory in Manaia is now in the hands of receivers BDO, but other companies in the Yarrows Group in Rotorua and Australia are unaffected. The South Taranaki operation produces up to 40,000 loaves of bread a week and sells frozen dough to Subway outlets in New Zealand and overseas.

EPMU lead organiser Wayne Ruscoe says that these and other supply agreements make the Yarrows factory an attractive proposition to another buyer. He agrees with the receivers BDO that Yarrows may still be sold as a going concern.

‘Receivership is not the end of the line,’ says EPMU lead organiser Wayne Ruscoe. ‘Many kiwi firms have survived this kind of setback and gone on to prosper.’

The union is committed to supporting our members at Yarrows. The EPMU has thousands of members in the food industry and well-established relationships and employment agreements with all the likely new owners. ‘We have a long term collective employment agreement that provides significant protection for the Yarrows workers and will underpin their employment with a new owner,’ says Ruscoe.

Yarrows Bakery is the main employer in Manaia, and the family has been a significant supporter of the local community, especially in sport. ‘It would be great if people could show their appreciation in a practical way by continuing to buy Yarrows products,’ suggests Ruscoe. ‘The problems are deeper than that, but it’d be a nice touch.’

ENDS

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