Striking workers accused of holding shoppers hostage

Striking workers outside the Progressive Enterprises Ltd distribution centre in Mangere, Auckland, yesterday. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

Supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises Ltd today accused striking workers of "holding hostage" shoppers and suppliers.

About 500 workers at Progressive Enterprises' three distribution centres supplying Foodtown, Countdown and Woolworths supermarkets have been on strike since Friday morning over a pay and holiday dispute.

In a full-page advertisement in today's metropolitan newspapers, Progressive Enterprises managing director Marty Hamnett said the industrial action had "forced" them to close their grocery distribution centres.

"We cannot meet unreasonable and unrealistic union demands for what is in effect a 30 per cent wage increase which threatens the livelihoods of our staff, our suppliers and our very business," he said.

"If these demands were agreed to, they would be bad for New Zealand resulting in higher food prices in the supermarket and could mean many other New Zealand businesses having to increase prices."

Mr Hamnett said their 18,000-plus staff, New Zealand shoppers and their suppliers were being "held hostage" by the strike action.

But the National Distribution Union today disputed Mr Hamnett's statement.

National secretary Laile Harre said the advert might have breached advertising standards and the union was taking legal action.

It was not true the union was seeking a 30 per cent pay rise, she said.

"The union is seeking significantly less than that in order to close the gap between workers in the Palmerston North, Christchurch and Auckland distribution centres," Ms Harre said.

"And the union is seeking an across the board payrise of 8 per cent. So that is a lie, and however you do your sums, you don't get 30 per cent."

Ms Harre said Mr Hamnett's claim that the union only represented 3 per cent of Progressive employees was also untrue.

"We represent 26 per cent of the total employees of Progressive. So the company is clearly trying to persuade customers that they are being held to ransom by an unreasonable minority."

Ms Harre said she had "no idea" what the next step was in the negotiation process and that the union was "gobsmacked" yesterday at what she said was the company issuing lockout notices and saying it would not negotiate a national agreement.

- NZPA