Yu lodges Zespri claim

A former Zespri employee has filed a grievance against the company.

Former Zespri employee Joseph Yu, now jailed in China, has filed a personal grievance claim against the kiwifruit company with the Employment Relations Authority, the National Business Review reported.

Yu has brought a claim for unjust dismissal to the ERA, following the termination of his employment in May, 14 months after he began his five-year prison sentence, reported NBR.

Yu was found guilty of being an accessory to smuggling charges laid against Zespri's then China subsidiary, Zespri Management Consulting Company, which was fined almost $1 million for under-declaration of customs duties in China between 2008-10.

Zespri said it would not be making any comment on the grievance claim because it was an employment-related matter.