10 November 2015

Union leader calls for AFFCO boycott

The Vice-President Māori of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU) is asking iwi farming corporations and other Māori farmers to consider withholding stock from AFFCO meat processing plants until the company returns to bargaining and settles a collective agreement with the Meat Workers’ Union.

“We’re standing with the 250 meat workers in Wairoa who have been locked out of their workplace after refusing to sign unfair individual employment agreements,” says Vice President Māori Syd Keepa.

“AFFCO’s stubborn refusal to offer fair pay and conditions on their eight North Island sites overwhelmingly impacts Māori workers and their whānau. More than 70 percent of the AFFCO workforce is Māori.”

“The lockout is causing immense hardship for many Māori, their whānau and their communities. People have the right to earn enough to cover the rent, pay the power bill and put food on the table.”

“As an act of solidarity and manaakitanga I’m asking iwi farming corporations and all other Māori farmers to consider withholding stock from AFFCO plants until the company agrees to treat the workers with dignity and respect and returns to the bargaining table,” says Keepa.

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