lockout

About 700 hospital service and food workers have been issued with lockout notices by companies who contract for the district health boards (DHBs).

Earlier this week the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) announced 4160 separate strike actions on behalf of 2800 cleaning and catering staff and orderlies employed in public hospitals around New Zealand.

SFWU bargaining co-ordinator Alastair Duncan said ISS had issued seven days of lockout notices effective May 31, while two other contractors, Compass and OCS issued lockout notices for just one day, May 31.

The fourth contracting company, Spotless Services, did not issue a notice.

The four companies employ about two thirds of the workers. The rest are employed by the DHBs directly.

ISS chief executive officer Brian Young this morning confirmed a lockout notice had been issued to the staff.

The workers are seeking a Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) to standardise pay around the country.

Mr Duncan said the lockout targeted the lowest paid workers in the public sector and smacked of bully boy tactics and discrimination.

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"No one threatens to lock out doctors or nurses. But low paid service workers appear to be fair game."

Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Ross Wilson said the lockout was the action of "corporate bullies who had a "callous disregard" for the low paid workers and their families.

"Service and support staff in hospitals are some of the lowest paid workers in the country," he said.

"It is an indictment of these huge multi-national companies that they have reacted with lockout notices, because these workers have organised together to claim a collective agreement to improve their pitiful wages."

Mr Wilson called on the companies to return to negotiations with an open mind.

The National Distribution Union (NDU) has condemned the lockout and pledged its support to a union movement campaign.

NDU national secretary Laila Harre said the workers needed practical solidarity.

"These essential hospital workers live and work in communities all over New Zealand and they need our support."

"The unions have not been responding to our counter proposals on the bargaining table, so we have responded by issuing lockout notices in support of our position," Mr Young said.

He was hopeful a settlement could be reached before the lockouts in two weeks.

"We're certainly willing to sit down and talk with the union at any time."

- NZPA

A union that succeeded against an extended lock out of 600 locked out supermarket distribution centre workers last year has condemned the lock out of low paid hospital workers and pledged its support to a union movement campaign to support them. The National Distribution Union’s pledge follows the issuing of lock out notices to around 700 service and support workers in district health boards in New Zealand by three overseas employers, OCS Ltd, ISS Ltd and Compass.

After months of organising and protesting Countdown, Foodtown and Woolworth supermarket retail workers won a real wage rise and kept their long service leave.

The scene has been set for tackling youth rates at the three brands through the working party. Union pay rises averaged 4.5% (50c to 55c an hour), and 5.5% for young workers.

Annual leave increases to five weeks after 10 years service.

The settlement came in the third week of the warehouse lockout, and only after employer attempts to pressure union members failed.

Among the tactics used by the employer was an offer of 3.5% to non-members. In some stores union members were told they too could be locked out.

Fortunately the work done this year to improve union communication in the supermarkets paid off – allowing information to get out to members quickly.

Although around 200 members resigned from the union after the employer misinformation, many quickly rejoined.

The supermarket campaign, Shelfrespect.org, used rallies outside supermarkets to increase member activism and build customer support.

Before negotiations started delegates in Auckland put the campaign on the 6 o'clock news with a noisy lunchtime rally at the Onehunga Foodtown.

One delegate said: "They're going to hate this. The only reason they don't expect it is because they're used to walking all over us."

A mid-year recruitment drive saw membership grow by hundreds, including among young workers who now have a $2 youth fee.

At Foodtown stores membership climbed from 22% to 27% in just a few weeks.

So with confidence and membership growing the union met the company for the first negotiations in July.

Management took a hardline: their best offer was 2.6% over 9 months, and they absolutely refused to increase annual leave to five weeks for long serving staff.

They wouldn't discuss other issues and even a company offer to remove youth rates for junior supervisors was withdrawn.

"It was clear from the start that the company wasn't going to budge and that we had to build activism in preparation for any future actions," said Retail Secretary Judy Attenburger.

The following week delegates and activists at meetings around the country rejected the company's "insulting" offer and endorsed a customer campaign and petition.

In Auckland, 500 members came to a stop work meeting.

When it came to discuss the next step in the campaign, one worker suggested short strikes of up to an hour during busy shopping times.

An indicative vote showed over 90% support for such action.

Over the following weeks the media captured union members in Auckland, Whangarei, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Lower Hutt, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin plastering customers with stickers and handing out plastic shopping bags with "I support supermarket workers" printed on them.

One delegate, Jane, who has been a delegate at Foodtown Greenlane for 18 years said "I'm just sick of the crap the company's dealing us, and that's why I stand up for the people."

Just as the supermarket campaign took off, Progressive locked out their 600 distribution workers. Laila Harré explains that the lockout was also aimed at supermarket workers.

"The company saw the union getting more active everywhere and we are sure that the lock out was used to try and frighten supermarket workers," she said. "The cost of a living wage and equal pay for equal work for 17,000 supermarket workers was always going to be much greater than equal pay for equal work for the company's 600 warehouse workers."

But with supermarket workers in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch joining the distribution workers on their picket lines and marches, the company's attempts to divide union members failed.

"The solidarity from our supermarket members during the lock out was great," says Karl Andersen, TES Sector secretary. "Supermarket workers were refusing to do the work of the locked out workers. Members called to tell us when supplies were arriving, allowing us to set up pickets outside stores.

The distribution centre workers appreciated seeing their supermarket co-workers at the picket lines, often bringing money and food.

In Mangere, the local Countdown delegate presented one of the first worksite donations.

In Wellington supermarket delegates and the Brass Razoo Band raised $1500 in just 30 minutes for the lockout fund."
A week after the supermarket negotiations resumed on the 7th & 8th of September a settlement was reached in mediation.

The settlement was a good result on key issues as well as providing a basis for the union and employer to continue work on developing a single pay scale across the three brands.

The strength that both the warehouse and the supermarket workers showed Progressive brought greater respect for them at the bargaining table.