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Company closure leaves workers in the dark
4 May 2015
Company closure leaves workers in the dark
While creditors and contractors take action to recover their assets in Kiwi Forestry International and Harvest Pro, workers in the subsidiary company Smith & Davies are still in the dark over their employment status says FIRST Union General Secretary Robert Reid.
“Today FIRST Union members at the Auckland branch of Smith & Davies Ltd were instructed to return their work vehicles and surrender any other company property. Workers were told the company is “shutting its doors”, but the status of their employment was not clarified”.
“After the sister company, Smith & Davies New Zealand Ltd, went into difficulty some of its assets and workers were acquired by Stan Semenoff Ltd, yet these workers were not notified of the arrangement until over a week after it happened.
“Smith & Davies New Zealand Ltd has not paid out notice or redundancy pay for workers who were covered under the collective agreement. FIRST Union currently has a claim against the company for this money” says Reid.
“No one appears to know what is happening. The Companies Office has refused to investigate alleged irregularities without an official complaint while the issue does not even appear to be on the radar of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment”.
“If workers do something wrong they are liable for warnings and even dismissal. Is seems that companies can flout the Companies Act, the Employment Act and others acts with impunity. Why will no government agency investigate allegations the company is trading while insolvent?” asks Reid.
“Regulators need to step in and regulate. If they refuse then politicians need to step up and clarify the law”.
About: Smith & Davies New Zealand Ltd, Smith & Davies Ltd and Harvest Pro New Zealand Ltd are wholly owned subsidiaries of Kiwi Forestry International Ltd In March hundreds of workers in Northland had their jobs terminated. However, Auckland workers have yet to receive clear information on the status of their employment.
ENDS
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