Kawerau: Essity toilet paper mill workers speak out on accepting pay deal and returning to work

Union delegates and Essity Kawerau mill workers Simon Goddard, Suzy Kotuhi and Rik Tauroa. Photo / Mead Norton

Mill workers locked out for nearly six weeks say they can now "move forward" and return to their jobs after voting unanimously to accept their employer's pay deal.

The nearly six-week lockout at Purex manufacturer Essity's Kawerau mill will come to an end on Monday.

Members of the Pulp and Paper Workers Union voted yesterday to accept a revised offer from the company.

The 145 workers were locked out without pay on August 9 after a stalemate over a pay deal to meet the rising cost of living.

On Tuesday, after several days of facilitated bargaining between the company and Pulp and Paper Workers Union, Essity made a revised offer that matched a recommendation from the Employment Relations Authority.

Both parties have stated the three-year deal includes a 5 per cent increase and a $4000 lump sum in 2022, a 4.5 per cent increase and a $3000 lump sum in 2023 and a 4 per cent increase in 2024.

The union said in a statement the deal would keep workers' incomes ahead of forecast inflation.

Union secretary Tane Phillips said in the statement workers were relieved to have secured a fair deal and for the lockout to be over.

In his view: "Essity locked out our members for nearly six weeks without pay to try to starve them out ... and when that wasn't enough they targeted individual workers with more than half a million dollars in legal threats."

The company has said it had withdrawn the legal action.

In Phillips' opinion: "Our members refused to be intimidated and have stood strong right through."

He said the workers had been overwhelmed by the support and donations from the Kawerau community and people all across New Zealand.

"I also want to thank the Council of Trade Unions for its support through this dispute, as well as the Swedish unions and the global union body IndustriALL for putting pressure on Essity's head office in Stockholm.

"This is a big improvement on the company's original offer, which would have seen our members' pay go backwards in real terms. We have achieved what we set out to, which was for our members' pay to keep up with inflation."

Workers were expected to return to work on Monday but not before they held a celebration for all the union members and supporters.

'We will then hold a karakia at the gates on Monday morning before heading back to work with our heads held high."

Simon Goddard has worked at the mill for 22 years. Photo / Mead Norton

Union delegate Simon Goddard, who has worked at the mill for 22 years, told NZME it was a "relief" for everyone to finally get back to work and to get an offer "that keeps us up with inflation and the cost of living".

"We've worked hard trying to get a resolution over the last six weeks.

"It's going to take time to build all the bridges between us and the company again but we've got to do it - it's our livelihood and we've all got to move forward."

Goddard said there were three different contracts among the 145 employees.

"It's brought us really close together - we fought together, we stood together and we got
the result we wanted."

Suzy Kotuhi said she was looking forward to getting back to work. Photo / Mead Norton

Suzy Kotuhi, who has worked at the mill for 18 years and is also a union delegate, said it was a unanimous vote to accept the offer.

"We're very happy with what the recommendation was and that the company accepted that - we're very grateful for that.

"I'm really happy to be getting a steady income again and just getting back to the normal routine."

Union delegate and employee Rik Tauroa said: "We are thankful that we've come to an agreement ... and we've just got to get back to work."

Kawerau mayor Malcolm Campbell said it was "great news" for the community, company and the workers.

"We're all glad there's a resolute out of the whole thing.

"There's no winners in this sort of situation [a stoppage of work]. There's a whole lot of debt that [the workers] have to service so it'll take a while to catch up. And the company is in the same position."

A New Zealand Council of Trade Unions media statement yesterday said it was "a victory for working people".

"Today is a good day for working New Zealanders, and an example of what we can achieve when we stand together in union," president Richard Wagstaff said in the statement.

An Essity media statement said employees at Kawerau paper mill had accepted an offer from Essity in line with the Employment Relations Authority's recommendations.

Essity's general manager at Kawerau Peter Hockley said reaching an agreement allowed them to resume production which was in "everyone's best interests".

"The union has decided employees will return to work on September 19 so we're now preparing for production to resume at the mill.

"The focus for Essity now is on the long-term future of the Kawerau mill and rebuilding our relationships with the mill workers."

Essity had shown its commitment to the Kawerau mill by investing $130 million in plant upgrades during recent years, the statement said.

The uncertainty of the strike action put on hold a further investment of $14m to upgrade its paper machines and significantly reduce the mill's carbon emissions.

"Reaching an agreement and getting the mill back in operation is a good outcome for all," Hockley said.

Essity was approached for further comment in response to Phillips.