Unite members are balloting on whether to authorise strike action and the union believes the company is trying to intimidate staff.
“This is a vicious attack on the very limited income these workers already receive,” says Unite Union National Director Mike Treen.
“The company is claiming they have to do this because the collective agreement has expired. This is nonsense. We offered a way to ensure workers got their usual hours and this was rejected.
“The company is also trying to remove the automatic pay rises workers get at six-months and refuses to implement a 15-minute break in the first three hours which is an industry standard.
“They refuse to put in clauses guaranteeing staff get an alternative holiday for working on a public holiday, despite losing a court case over this issue at the end of last year.
“The company has yet to pay any worker for their lost alternative holiday and annual leave entitlements despite being asked to do so by the Employment Relations Authority six months ago. This is money that has been stolen from workers and should be returned immediately. Why are they waiting?” asked Mr Treen.
