Event Cinema worker Mel Johnston protests with colleagues outside the Auckland headquarters. Photo / Chris Gorman
A movie chain refusing to talk to a group of workers who are being let go today has found itself with "les miserables" in the flesh.
A delegation from the Event Cinemas site at Highland Park, near Pakuranga, went to the chain's head office in central Auckland yesterday, complaining about
being laid off with only two weeks' redundancy pay, even though some of the four fulltime staff and about 20 part-timers have worked at the site for up to 17 years.
"We feel like the poor people in Les Miserables, just fighting for our rights," said Mel Johnston, 36, who has had three children since she started working at the complex in 2005.
The company refused to talk to the group, telling them it "would talk one-to-one but not in a situation like this".
Event Cinemas New Zealand general manager Carmen Switzer said the collective agreement negotiated with Unite Union did not include any redundancy pay.
