Dumped LWR workers get boost in payout

Clothing manufacturer LWR made 186 workers redundant in May. Photo / Simon Baker

A second distribution has been paid to workers made redundant from collapsed textile manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin (LWR).

The payment takes the amount they have received to 55c per dollar of total employee preferential entitlements.

LWR was put into receivership in late April, with 186 workers made redundant in mid-May.

Yesterday receivers Stephen Tubbs and Brian Mayo-Smith said the latest payments to staff had been made at the earliest opportunity based on accumulation of cash from day-to-day trading.

At the time of the redundancies, LWR did not have cash reserves available to meet any significant proportion of the outstanding entitlements.

The confirmed payments reflected a strong focus on addressing the situation as quickly as possible, the receivers said.

"We recognise that the impact of the receivership has been very hard for the staff made redundant, and we can only thank them for the patience they have shown in these circumstances.

"We would also like to recognise the efforts of the retained staff of the group, who have worked extremely hard in a difficult situation to produce the cash required to make the payments achieved to date," Mr Tubbs and Mr Mayo-Smith said.

Further payments would be made as soon as the cash position allowed.

By law, employees' preferential entitlements are made up of arrears of wages, holiday pay and redundancy entitlements up to a gross limit of $16,420 per employee. Any entitlements above that are unsecured claims against the group. A first round of payments, equivalent to 10c in the dollar, were made in April.

- NZPA