Beacon dispute settled
The industrial dispute at the Whakatane Beacon is over.
Thirteen workers returned to work today after striking for a week in a dispute over a collective employment agreement.
Union organiser Fiona Brown of the EPMU said that agreement had been reached for a two-year deal that would see wages
and conditions at the eastern Bay of Plenty community newspaper move more into line with those at comparable
publications.
“The minimum wage rates will go up $2.50 an hour and there is now a negotiated collective agreement on site. This is the
first since the demise of the awards and inception of the ECA in 1991.
The workers were pleased with the settlement and grateful for the support they had received from the Whakatane community
and newspaper workers in other parts of the country, she said.