2006 Progressive Enterprises dispute

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Locked out workers at an Auckland picket.

The 2006 Progressive Enterprises dispute was an industrial dispute between

EPMU. On 25 August 2006, over 500 employees at Progressive's four distribution centres (in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch) began a 48-hour strike supporting a demand for a national collective agreement involving an eight percent wage increase and pay parity between the four centres. On 26 August 2006 the company locked out the strikers indefinitely, suspending operations at its distribution centres, with suppliers delivering goods directly to the supermarkets and also setting up amateur small scale distribution centres in car parks of Countdown supermarkets.[1] The dispute was resolved on 21 September 2006 when Progressive Enterprises agreed to pay parity and a 4.5% wage increase.[2]

Background

In 2003 Progressive closed its Auckland and Christchurch distribution centers and rehired the redundant workers on lower pay,[3] the closures ended the former national agreement and resulted in a NZ$2.50 per hour pay gap between the four sites.[4] On 25 November 2005 Progressive Enterprises was bought by Australian retailer

Woolworths Limited
, the country's largest private employer.

On Friday 25 August 2006 workers at the Progressive Enterprises distribution centres began a 48 hour long strike in support of a nationwide collective agreement with equal pay rates and existing allowances combined into a site allowance of up to $2.50, an 8% pay rise and an extra week service leave.[5] On the 28th they voted unanimously to extend the strike. Union organiser Stan Renwick stated "This strike has become much more than a fight between distribution workers and Progressive, it's becoming a fight between the communities of Mangere, Palmerston North and Christchurch and $1.1 billion dollars of Australian profit,"[6] Following the strike the company locked out the workers indefinitely, calling the union demands unrealistic.

Economic effects

On the 11th day of the lock out

ONE News had noticed gaps.[7] That same day a spokesperson for the company told the Gisborne Herald that there were certainly empty gaps on shelves at most supermarkets, although this was not having an impact on sales, with customers substituting out of stock items for different brands.[8]

One National Distribution Union employee has claimed that the company was paying more than three times what it would normally pay for distribution during the lock-out.[9]

As the dispute entered its third week the locked out workers started to feel the effects of missing three pay cheques; one locked out worker, Virginia Watson, told TVNZ that she was now relying on donations to feed her kids: "It's really starting to hurt. The kids haven't had a decent meat and vegetable meal to eat for over a week now, been pretty hard for them."[10] Progressive Enterprises estimated that the workers had collectively lost over $2 million in wages during the dispute.[11]

On 24 October The Press reported that the dispute "took a toll on Australian parent company Woolworths, which reported flat sales in New Zealand for the first quarter"[12]

On the picket lines

Picketing workers in Christchurch stopping a Linfox truck

Progressive Enterprises workers, along with supporters, kept up continuous around-the-clock pickets at the distribution centres, as well as going out on "

New Zealand Herald that the truck had driven dangerously through the picket line and that the driver unwound his window and swung a metal pole around. According to Senior Sergeant Cornell Kluessien "Some were charged with disorderly behaviour, some with obstructing police and some with obstructing a roadway."[17]

Reactions

Union movement

At a special affiliates meeting of the

Rail Tram and Bus Union. On 18 September representatives of these unions travelled to New Zealand to join the picket lines.[24]

At an executive board meeting held in

ILO Conventions and New Zealand law."[25]

Business community

Business lobby groups

National Radio "If they were to pull this off, then it could well lead to other situations where other employers who operate nationally see this sort of thing tried out against them."[26] Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly stated "I think the Progressive dispute is a very public way station of a trend towards more of this. The claim's not just about money, it's about structural stuff and bargaining issues that employers will find quite difficult to agree to," and claimed that if unions continue this approach to negotiations it would undoubtedly lead to more industrial disputes.[27]
An editorial in the
Nelson Mail called the dispute "a disturbing reminder of the past, when unions had the power to shut down an entire industry – and sometimes used it."[28]

Political response

The government did not make any official statement about the dispute, however one individual cabinet minister,

Andrew Little challenged all members of parliament to match or beat this donation, though none did.[29]

The opposition

National Party put out a press release critical of the workers, mistakenly calling the industrial dispute a 'strike' when it was actually a lockout.[30]

The Green Party urged the public to boycott Progressive Enterprises supermarkets until the dispute was resolved. The party's industrial relations spokesperson Sue Bradford stated in a press release "The Green Party is totally behind the locked-out workers. The right to form national collective agreements is a basic one which workers in many other industries have successfully attained. It is appalling to see Progressive Enterprises applying such brute economic force to prevent its workers from negotiating one,"[31]

The Alliance supported the locked out workers by donating $500 and encouraging members of the party to match that donation. It also criticised the Labour government for remaining silent during the dispute.[32] The Workers Party produced and distributed a bulletin supporting the locked out workers, and encouraging the public to donate to the locked out worker fund.[33]

Socialist Worker raised $250 at a community picket of Foodtown Onehunga, and its activists in the Solidarity Union manned the picket line most days during the strike.[citation needed] The Workers' Charter newspaper published extensive coverage in its pages, also helping to raise the need for workers to challenge the ERA's anti strike laws and deliver illegal solidarity strike action to support those locked out.[citation needed]

Settlement

Both sides of the dispute claimed victory when an agreement was reached between the company and the two unions representing its employees on 21 September. The majority of workers in Auckland and Palmerston North voted to accept the company's offer, however, the vote in Christchurch was close.

Laila Harre said the terms were the same; "The most important thing for these workers was using their national bargaining power to deliver equal pay for equal work and they've done a stunning job of that,"[35] The agreement allowed for a 4.5% pay rise and pay parity between the four distribution centres by the end of 2008. Different sites' shift and roster systems were preserved but the system of allowances was streamlined to comprise a single base rate. The company also made available interest free loans of up to $1,000 to union members affected by the lock-out.[36]

After the dispute

In Christchurch a small group of workers refused to go back to work the day after a settlement was reached, instead going back to work the following Monday. NDU delegate Karl Skivington told National Radio that 49 per cent of workers there voted against accepting the deal from Progressive, and that many of them were "still angry" and in no mood to rush back to work for employers who had locked them out.[37] On 12 October The Press reported that Marty Hamnett who had been CEO of Progressive Enterprises during the dispute, was leaving his position to "return to work in Australia for family reasons"[38] Negotiations between Progressive Enterprises employees at the Southmore Meat Processing Plant represented by The Meat Workers Union continued after a settlement was reached for the workers at distribution centers, as of 20 October union negotiators had just come out of mediation with a deal to take back to the membership to be voted on.[39] At the end of the year, each of the workers received a $100 Christmas bonus from their union, funded from the donations that came in after the dispute ended.[22] On 21 March 2007 Progressive Enterprises was awarded the 2006 Roger Award, an award given by the organisations Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa and GATT Watchdog for the worst transnational corporation Operating in New Zealand. A spokesperson for CAFCA and GATT Watchdog stated:

It is no surprise that Progressive won the Roger because of that 6 September national lockout of its supermarket distribution centre workers, an all-out attack on its own workers, a naked attempt to smash the unions representing them and to starve those lowpaid workers into submission.[40]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Progressive Forced to Suspend Grocery Distribution Centre Operations". Progressive Enterprises Limited Press Release. 28 August 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2006.
  2. ^ "Progressive pay dispute resolved". TVNZ News. 21 September 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2006.
  3. ^ "About the Campaign". Shelfrespect.org. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2006.
  4. ^ "Striking Distribution Workers Locked Out". Indymedia Aotearoa. Archived from the original on 22 September 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2006.
  5. ^ "Supermarket Supply Chain Strikes Across Country". ShelfRespect.org. Retrieved 10 September 2006.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "100% Vote to Continue Progressive Strike Nationally". ShelfRespect.org. Retrieved 10 September 2006.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "More pressure for Progressive". TVNZ. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 10 September 2006.
  8. ^ "Gisborne shelves showing effects of national strike". The Gisborne Herald. 4 September 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 10 September 2006.
  9. ^ "Progressive distribution workers – daring to struggle, daring to win". The Spark. Retrieved 27 May 2008.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Progressive workers win backing". TVNZ. 16 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
  11. ^ "Lockout on verge of a settlement". Stuff. 21 September 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  12. ^ 'Lockout proves costly' The Press Thursday, 24 October 2006 C1
  13. ^ "Progressive distribution workers". Indymedia Aotearoa. 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  14. ^ "Locked-out workers force company back-down". Green Left Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 October 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  15. ^ "Union leader arrested at picket". TVNZ. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  16. ^ "Police called to picket line". Newstalk ZB. 19 September 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  17. ^ "Ten picketers arrested after truck tyres are punctured". The New Zealand Herald. 8 September 2006. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2006.
  18. ^ "CTU Special Meeting". NZCTU. 8 September 2006. Archived from the original on 5 October 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2006.
  19. ^ "Maritime Union backs distribution workers battle". Scoop.co.nz. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2006.
  20. ^ "Rain no deterrent for locked out staff". TVNZ. 9 September 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2006.
  21. ^ "Maritime Union steps up support of locked out workers". Indymedia Aotearoa. 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
  22. ^ a b "Christmas bonus for Progressive workers". EPMU News. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2006.
  23. ^ "Pay pledge to Progressive workers". Stuff. 17 September 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2006.
  24. ^ "Aussie unions join picket line in Auckland". Stuff. 18 September 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
  25. ^ "Pacific Union Condemns Progressive Enterprises". Scoop.co.nz. 16 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
  26. ^ "Protracted dispute making business leaders nervous". Stuff. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2006.
  27. ^ "Employers fear union power push". Stuff. 10 September 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2006.
  28. ^ "Not progressive". Stuff. 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
  29. ^ "International pressure to be put on Progressive Enterprises". Stuff. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
  30. ^ "Unions drag everyone down – Mapp". Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2006.
  31. ^ "Boycott of Progressive Enterprises urged". Green Party press release. 6 September 2006. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
  32. ^ "Alliance says 'the money is there' – Progressives should pay up". Indymedia Aotearoa. 6 September 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
  33. ^ "Organising to Win" (PDF). Workers Party of New Zealand bulletin. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  34. ^ "Both sides in supermarket industrial dispute claim victory". Radio New Zealand. 21 September 2006. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
  35. ^ "Locked out workers reach settlement". Stuff. 21 September 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
  36. ^ "Progressive and NDU reach agreement". The National Business Review. 21 September 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
  37. ^ "Some distribution workers to stay away until Monday". Stuff. 22 September 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2006.
  38. ^ "Hamnett to go" The Press Thursday, 12 October 2006 B4
  39. ^ "Meat Workers Picket Progressive Enterprises". EPMU News. 20 October 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2006.
  40. ^ "Progressive Enterprises Wins Roger Award". Scoop.co.nz. Archived from the original on 26 March 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2007.

External links

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