Stocks hold as shop row enters its 11th day

Laila Harre

Supermarkets in Auckland were managing for the most part to keep shelves stocked yesterday, despite a distribution workers' strike that is now into its 11th day with no end in sight.

Talks between unions representing 600 locked-out distribution workers based in Auckland, Christchurch and Palmerston North and Australian employer Progressive finished on Saturday night without a settlement.

The industrial action has led to volatile scenes on picket lines, causing Progressive's managing director Marty Hamnett to appeal for calm.

His call came following an alleged "incident of assault and aggressive behaviour" by union members outside a Christchurch supermarket.

But in a statement released yesterday, union national secretary Laila Harre said the pickets would continue, "to prevent the use of illegal replacement labour and to inform supermarket customers about the issues".

Meanwhile, Auckland's central-city supermarkets yesterday appeared to be bearing up to the strike, though some gaps were developing.

In Woolworths Grey Lynn, kilogram bags of sugar were looking depleted, and aluminium and plastic wraps were also going fast.

One pair of Saturday-evening revellers were having trouble finding certain items of "recovery food", particularly soda and bottled water.

Potato chips were in short supply, as were corn chips and certain brands of chocolate bar.

Anyone planning on enjoying tacos for dinner last night would have had to be quick, and some worrying gaps were appearing in the mid-range chardonnay and pinot noir shelves.

Beer supplies appeared to be holding out.

The situation appeared to be the same in other Progressive-supplied supermarkets, including Foodtown branches downtown and in Grey Lynn.

At Grey Lynn Foodtown, Kristen Rasmussen, a Mt Albert shopper, reckoned the strike had saved her as much as $50 on the weekly shop, but she was preparing herself for some moans from the kids.

A shortage of Coca-Cola and other soft drinks was "a major", she said, as was the absence of another "two or three things".

A first time shopper at Grey Lynn, Renee of Papatoetoe, said the situation was similar in South Auckland supermarkets, with "a bit of everything" in short supply.

Ms Harre, a former Cabinet minister, said negotiators failed at the weekend to set a date for more talks aimed at ending the deadlock.


At stake

* The workers want equal pay rates and all existing allowances combined into a site allowance, an 8 per cent pay rise and an extra week's service leave.

* Progressive is refusing to allow the employees to return to work until they give up a claim for a national collective agreement.

- Additional reporting NZPA