NDU in the media

An exploding rat population and increasingly unpleasant smells are turning the Paper Reclaim plant in Penrose into a health hazard say workers at the site.

TV3's Campbell Live visited the picket line on 6 July to find out what was going on.

Watch their story here. 

Pay rises already achieved by NDU
- Radio New Zealand

25 June 2010

The National Distribution Union says its members have been receiving wage increases of up to 6% per year both during the recession and since.

The Public Service Association says its members will be pushing harder for wage increases now the economy has had 12 months of growth.

It says members have had to share the pain, now they should share the gain.

The National Distribution Union says general wage increases averaged 0.3% nationally in the first three months of the year.

Union president Robert Reid says there is never a good time to ask for wage increases, but NDU members have been achieving rises of between 3% - 6% per year.

The Northern Employers & Manufacturers Association says wage increases depend on the circumstances of individual companies.

Chief executive Alasdair Thompson also says people need to remember that wage rates generally did not go down during the recession and some even went up.

LISTEN ONLINE: Click here to listen to Robert Reid being interviewed on Radio NZ.

Ministry 'underestimating' toxic chemical issue
- Radio New Zealand

24 June 2010

The union representing sawmill workers says the Ministry of Health may be underestimating the number of people who need help from exposure to a carcinogenic chemical used to treat timber.

A package offered on Wednesday people exposed to PCPs when they worked at Whakatane Board Mills between the 1950s and 1980s includes a free annual health check, access to a dioxin helpline, a website and pamphlets.

The Health Ministry estimates that between 4000 and 8000 people may come forward to take up the checks, but the National Distribution Union says it could be many more, because PCP is only just being acknowledged as a problem.

The ministry says it will fund discussions about the possibility of research into the potential impacts of PCP on spouses, children and grandchildren.

Former sawmill worker Kereama Akuhara, who has a rare and incurable bone disease he believes was caused by dioxin exposure, says the health support service is a step in the right direction but falls short of what workers were expecting.

He welcomes the possibility of research into the potential impacts of PCP the families of those exposed to the chemicals.

LISTEN ONLINE: Click here to listen to Robert Reid being interviewed on Radio NZ. 

NZ Union supports Fiji mineworkers
- Radio Australia

June 16, 2010

One of New Zealand's largest private sector unions has voiced support for a Fiji union involved in a long running dispute. Robert Reid, the General Secretary of the National Distribution Union, says he hopes a meeting today between the Fiji Mineworkers Union and senior officials from the Fiji prime minister's office will help resolve the 19 year old strike by 340 miners at the Australian owned Emperor Gold Mine in Vatukoula.

He accuses the company of choosing to close down the mine rather than negotiate a resolution of the issues, but since then the miners have continued to live in mine housing or housing provided by the Fiji Housing Authority and have continued to picket the mine. Bruce Hill asked Robert Reid why a New Zealand Union is coming to the aid of another union in Fiji.

LISTEN ONLINE: Click here to listen to Robert Reid being interviewed on Radio Australia.

ALSO: See Radio New Zealand's story on the same issue here. 

Public holidays on the weekend
Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon programme

May 27 2010

Should workers be compensated when public holidays fall on weekends?

LISTEN ONLINE: Click here to listen to Robert Reid being interviewed on Radio NZ. 

Unions urge caution with Holidays Act review
Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme

May 13 2010

Unions fear employers are attempting to use a review of the Holidays Act as a chance to"gouge out"existing staff entitlements on sick leave and holiday pay.

LISTEN ONLINE: Click here to listen to Robert Reid being interviewed on Radio NZ.

Unions puzzled by job figures
Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme

May 6 2010

Unemployment numbers have unions scratching their heads.

LISTEN ONLINE: Click here to listen to Robert Reid being interviewed on Radio NZ. 

The economy - how is NZ shaping up for a recovery?
Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon programme

Jan 27, 2010

Shamubeel Eaqub, Senior economist at the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research and Robert Reid, General Secretary of the National Distribution Union.

LISTEN ONLINE: Click here to listen to Robert Reid being interviewed on Radio NZ. 

The Warehouse Group says its moves to reduce labour costs and improve productivity were not significant enough to warrant a separate disclosure to the sharemarket.

But the National Distribution Union estimates the labour savings will be the equivalent of about 600 full-time jobs at The Warehouse. The Warehouse is running a productivity and labour costs initiative called Project Invigorate.

Chief financial officer Luke Bunt said the scheme was partly to train staff to generate more sales. It was also about labour scheduling and having the right number of staff on the shop floor at slow and busy times. "The result of Invigorate will be higher sales, but rather than redundancies, it could conceivably mean that people would be paid for fewer hours.

"It's partly about cost reductions and it's partly about increased sales, but what it isn't is about is wholesale redundancies," Bunt said.

In response to Businessday comments that the eventual reduction in hours of work at one of the country's largest retailers was a matter of public interest, Bunt said: "If we felt the number of people that may lose their job as a result of any initiative within the organisation was going to be significant we would do so [make an announcement] and we haven't said so."

Bunt said chief executive Ian Morrice had said the company was aiming to reduce costs by $30 million out of its costs base over three years. "But what he has also said is that much of that will go against offsetting inflationary pressures in the other parts of the business."

Reduction in the costs of goods, freight, productivity improvement and control of inventory were all contributing to the $30 million.

Asked about the total of labour hours that might be saved, Bunt said:

"If we felt it was so significant that it warranted separate disclosure because it was of interest to the public then we would be [disclosing it]. Unfortunately this isn't helping your story because it isn't that significant."

National Distribution Union general secretary Laila Harre said the union had a broader concern that the reduction in working hours in the retail sector would be disguised by company restructuring that took place largely through attrition.

This made it difficult for those outside the process to suggest ways retail jobs could be protected. Attrition and non-replacement of staff were just as significant in the labour market as losing jobs through redundancies. "It is true that Project Invigorate itself is not leading to redundancies, but it is also true Project Invigorate will result in a significant reduction in labour hours worked in The Warehouse."

The union's estimate of 600 full-time positions was based on the nine stores in which Project Invigorate was first implemented in Christchurch.

That was using the difference in the current funded hours and the ideal "invigorated" hours and applied to the rest of The Warehouse operation.

Bunt said The Warehouse Group did not report labour costs separately in the annual report because it was a commercially sensitive figure. There was a line called "employment costs" but that was employment costs across the entire group. Asked if they had a plan and target to reduce labour costs Bunt said,

"We do but it's not something I can comment on."

There was a plan around productivity but there were conversations for individual stores and individual people which the National Distribution Union was involved in.

The Government is facing calls to buy Kiwi-made after a Levin manufacturer revealed he was losing a $2 million Defence Force contract to China.

The textile industry, the Green Party and the union representing workers at Swazi Apparel today urged the Government to change its procurement policies.

"This is an industry full of innovators with ideas to create value-added products for local and international niche markets, but they need these procurement contracts to survive and grow," said Cameron King, director of Textiles New Zealand. "The Government could stimulate significant growth in the industry if it ensured a percentage of goods and services bought by government departments and agencies were sourced from within New Zealand."

Green Party MP Sue Bradford, who championed the Government's Buy Kiwi Made campaign, said the contract shift was "a stab in the back" for Swazi owner Davey Hughes who had maintained jobs in Levin despite pressure to move offshore.

Ms Bradford said US defence forces were required to buy 100 percent American. "The cradle of the free market believes in protecting its local manufacturers - we should do the same," she said. "The Green Party hopes that this episode will trigger an urgent review of government procurement practices and policies."

The National Distribution Union called on the Government to stop the contract going to China. Union secretary Laila Harre said government procurement processes had to be fixed to save jobs. "Every other country takes a pragmatic approach to applying international trade rules and balances...New Zealand seems more concerned with being toasted on the WTO (World Trade Organisation) cocktail circuit than putting toast on the table in our provincial centres."

Swazi Apparel has made wet weather gear for troops for the past three years but the Defence Force says the contract will be cut by 93 percent - more than $1.9 million - this year.

Mr Hughes said he felt "saddened and deeply disillusioned" after being given the news and did not know what to tell his workers.

Defence Minister Wayne Mapp said today he would find out what he could do about the contract, which comes up for renewal next year. Dr Mapp said one of the problems was that the main Defence Force contract was with an Australian company, Yakka Apparel Solutions, and Swazi was a sub contractor.

He said any future contract had to conform with WTO and CER (Closer Economic Relationship) rules, and New Zealand had a free trade agreement with China. "I'm going to look at the rules to see whether we can do better," he said.