Public donations have started to roll in for Affco freezing workers as protests stretch into their second week.
Bill Karati, a Pyes Pa mutton butcher, has been protesting daily outside Affco's Rangiuru branch since March 6 because of a stand-off over contract disputes.
Mr Karati said he and his fellow Affco union members would not give up.
Public support for protesters is mounting, with almost every driver tooting in support yesterday when the Bay of Plenty Times visited a crew of about 20 picketing outside the plant.
Mr Karati - who has worked in the meat industry for 31 years, eight of them at Rangiuru - said members of the public had been stopping to donate gold coins.