Talley's AFFCO. Oceania Rest Homes. POA lock out...grow...



But not if you belong to a union...
says AFFCO boss who has 300 million in the bank. 



Workers assembled at The Leisure Centre in Palmerston North on Monday at 5.30pm to share their views on the spate of lock-outs now taking place up and down NZ.

Meat Workers, Care Givers and Nursing staff and Port Workers are the workers having their wages lowered or their working conditions changed without discussion.

Strangely one of the Auckland Port Management advisors is an ex trade union official who once taught at Massey University Rod Campbell, who keeps advising the POA Board that they can sack their staff at will and hire new staff via contractors. This is really odd coming from a guy who considered himself a leftie…and is now no doubt making big bucks and could well be a member of the Act party.

Waireka Rest home Halls Rd Pahiatua, Chiswick Park Maxwells Line and

Manor Rest Home Botanical Rd

, Palmerston North are all owned by what is most likely the worst care worker employer in the country, Oceania Group

Their 1500 care workers [across NZ] get paid only 11 cents over the minimum wage [$13.61 per hour] and many of these workers are fully qualified. The company concerned is owned by an Australian Bank and has shipped huge profits overseas at a rapid rate yet has failed to pass on increases due to workers…and considering that they have already received the money to increase wages to workers from the government they don’t. This is theft…but the government doesn’t seem to give a hoot.

Just yesterday Oceania failed to appear for mediation with the striking staff. They seem totally ignorant of what fair play means and see themselves above the law. In this respect they make good mates of Talley’s AFFCO boss who also ignores ‘good faith bargaining’…

Talley’s AFFCO owner since 2010 is worth around 300 million and it’s not hard to see how he made his money…he pinched it from his a workforce, yet the present strikes and lockouts is not about money…its about control, Talley’s wants a non-union compliant workforce, did you know that the

union asked to put a notice on the staff notice board seeking donations for the Christchurch earthquake fund…they were refused, beat that. Also during one set of discussions in relation to a collective agreement the Talley management team said, and I quote “ You can have any agreement you want…so long has it doesn’t have the word ‘Agreement’ in it…beat that for a load of crap.

Around 250 attended the gathering and heard about those being directly effected by the employers lockout in the case of Talley’s AFFCO and the Auckland Port Workers and the rolling stop work actions by Oceania rest homes. They offered to help each other and sought help and support from the rest of us. Their fight is our fight because as their rights are eaten into, our rights are also gobbled up in the mad push for higher and higher profit. Based on the clear evidence and behaviour, of Talley’s AFFCO in that they offer a thousand dollars plus higher wages to workers who won’t join the union. Their actions when laid alongside the POA desire to only employ non union casual labour shows a route to lower wages and conditions and therefore unfairness.