Lumber plant strike over

A 24-hour strike at Carter Holt Harvey's Futurebuild Laminated Veneer Lumber plant in Northland ended on Tuesday but workers remain angry the company will not budge on its overtime payment offer.

About 140 of the 180 workers were on strike on Monday protesting against the company's refusal to pay out an increased overtime payment to union members of time and a half.

The company wants to introduce the new rate, up from the current 1.2 times the standard rate, in a year and says its pre-strike pleas to renegotiate went ignored.

Monday's strike caused the plant to close down at a conservatively estimated loss of $250,000.