Global wholesale food giant Bidfood has been told it must start bargaining with the union after breaching New Zealand's employment laws.
The Employment Relations Authority has released a determination that found Bidfood New Zealand Limited had failed to notify its employees FIRST union had started bargaining and had also refused to start bargaining with the union.
Under New Zealand law a company must negotiate with a union once it has initiated bargaining.
FIRST Union sought a determination from the ERA after the company ignored a letter from the union saying it wanted to negotiate a collected agreement.
However the company argued that the notice was invalid because it had been sent to the manager of the Auckland branch and not the national office and there had been a misunderstanding of who it involved.