'Devastated, bitter and angry' Feltex workers to stand up for their rights

Feltex Carpets' employees are "devastated, bitter and angry" the Christchurch plant at which they work will close, taking with it 134 jobs, the union representing them said last night.

Godfrey Hirst, the company buying Feltex out of receivership, announced yesterday that the plant in Upper Riccarton would close because it had been selling carpet at or below the cost of production to compete with low-cost producers in Asia.

"This was clearly unsustainable. Realistically, this plant should have been closed several years ago when the production of woven carpets was transferred to low-cost centres by most other manufacturers in Australia, Europe and North America," Godfrey Hirst New Zealand general manager Tania Pauling said.

Feltex receiver McGrathNicol and Partners said the redundancies would take effect around November 3 when the handover to Godfrey Hirst was scheduled to take place. All employees would receive redundancy payments.

Thirty-five employees will be offered work until the end of November to complete existing contracts.

A further nine sales, design and IT staff will be offered employment with Godfrey Hirst.

Canterbury Spinners Ltd, Godfrey Hirst's Christchurch yarn mill, will offer jobs to 20 Riccarton employees, and Clive Scour in Napier has 15 positions available for Feltex Kakariki staff.

The Kakariki plant is set to close with the loss of 44 jobs.

Ms Pauling said all staff at Feltex's four other plants in Lower Hutt, Foxton, Feilding and Dannevirke would be offered employment by Godfrey Hirst.

"It will be business as usual at those plants," she said.

National Distribution Union site delegate Tony Sparks, who has worked at the company for 21 years, said the announcement had devastated the workforce.

"We feel angry and bitter. They simply told us "You are all gone, you are being shut down".

He said workers had been sent home for 24 hours.

"Everyone is shell shocked.

"Last week there were 70 unknown names up for redundancy and all of a sudden it's the whole plant."

National secretary Laila Harre said many long-term staff would only receive redundancies of up to $15,000, when previously owed up to $60,000.

"Godfrey Hirst thinks they can get New Zealand's biggest carpet manufacturer at a bargain basement price," she said.

"Whilst a building can't stand up and organise - workers can."