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Unite wins Super-sized payout for McDonald's worker
Wed 10 Sep 08
A Kaiapoi McDonald's worker was recently awarded $15,000 after her employer was found by the Employment Relations Authority to have constructively dismissed their 18 year old employee, Chantelle Coup, after she joined the union. They were also found to have been destructive in their dealings with Unite Union and to have used undue influence to get their employees to resign from the union.
The restaurant manager was described in the Authority report to have been in a "position of significant influence" over their work. The boss, Patrick Cornish, was described as a "father figure", and it was acknowledged that McDonalds Kaiapoi is "part of a large and powerful organisation."
Improved redundancy offer from Heritage in Christchurch
Fri 22 Apr 11
Heritage Hotel Workers in Christchurch were offered an improved redundancy deal when told their fate today.
Last week the 80 workers involved were informed they would receive nothing more than 2 weeks’ notice and offered no guarantee of reemployment at the hotel in Christchurch or at the dozen other Heritage sites across the country.
Unite union members were outraged at the package and Christchurch Organiser Matt Jones demanded the company rethink the offer. He described the original offer as "well below par with the other earthquake affected hotels throughout the city” and criticized “the lack of care and the awful presentation which has led to frustration and anger among our members".
Heritage Hotel Comes Up Short For Workers
Thu 14 Apr 11
20th April 2011 Update: Improved redundancy offer from Heritage in Christchurch
Strike action against security company lockout
Sat 19 Mar 11
Update 21st March
Unite responded with a picket on Saturday from 5pm. An on the spot deal was brokered whereby the lockout was lifted with negotiations at 9am on Sunday. The result is a much improved offer which is currently being put to members for approval.
Workers locked out at SkyCity casino in wage dispute
Mon 7 Mar 11
UPDATE 2
Unions reach settlement at SkyCity
UPDATE 1
A very loud and vocal picket was organised on Monday 7th March (videos here) and negotiations resumed later in the day and are continuing this week with the lockout notices withdrawn and strike action postponed.
Final written warning for Facebook comments outrageous
Fri 11 Feb 11
Unite Union National Director Mike Treen described as outrageous the decision by Burger King to give a final written warning today to a young worker who posted “Real jobs don’t underpay and overwork people like BK does” on a private Facebook page.
Strike at Auckland Casino on Chinese New Year to protest discrimination
Mon 31 Jan 11
Update: Unite claims victory with empty casino tables
3rd February 2011
Skycity casino unions are claiming victory over the company in their strike over their collective agreement and allegations that the company discriminates against Chinese staff by denying them leave during an extended Chinese new year.
Unite Union National Director Mike Treen said their aim was to close as much of the casino as possible and that was achieved with the company only able to open a tiny fraction of the gaming tables by using inexperienced managers.
Unite to Challenge Trespass Order
Sun 23 Jan 11
Unite Union national Director Mike Treen is to challenge a Trespass order taken against him and Joe Carolan another Unite official by SkyCity last week by trying to enter the casino at 2pm on Friday.
“The company is acting illegally by trying to use a trespass order to bar my access from most the Casino property and the members I represent,” said Mr Treen
“They are well aware that their powers to Trespass cannot reduce a union officials access rights contained in the Employment Relations Act. If they consider my access to be unreasonable they have the right to take me to court and have me penalized. However, by trying to use the Trespass Act they are seeking to avoid their responsibility to prove I have done anything wrong in exercising my access rights under law.
Union fireworks at SkyCity on New Year’s Day
Thu 30 Dec 10
SkyCity Casino in Auckland will be the scene of union organised action on January 1 starting immediately after the traditional fireworks display.
Unite and the Service and Food Workers Union are organizing a series of joint stop work meetings starting at 12.30am on New Year’s day. The meetings will be voting on a resolution from the union negotiating team rejecting the company’s offer in the Collective Agreement negotiations and empowering the unions to organize continuing industrial action until a suitable offer is received.
MAF and ADECCO deliver bleak Xmas for long-serving airport workers
Tue 14 Dec 10
The evils of contracting government services have been exposed at Auckland Airport where staff who have performed duties for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for many years have been thrown out of their jobs.
14 long serving staff have been thrown on the scrapheap just three weeks before Xmas because MAF has engaged a new contractor, foreign multinational company ADECCO, which is refusing to take on these long serving staff.
Two of the 14 have worked in the role for over 10 years with others having between two and five years service. The longest-serving staff were originally employed by MAF but their work has since been contracted out to labour hire companies, the latest of which is ADECCO.
