Strike emptying supermarket shelves [+ audio]

Empty shelves are starting to show up at supermarkets around the country as a strike by Progressive Enterprises' (PEL) distribution workers starts to bite.

About 500 workers at Progressive's nationwide distribution centres supplying Foodtown, Countdown, Woolworths, Super Value, and Fresh Choice supermarkets have been on strike since Friday morning over a pay and holiday dispute.

The protesting workers are demanding wage increases and a national collective agreement for the three distribution centres, in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Christchurch.

The company on Monday locked out striking workers and will not let them back to work unless they give up their demands.

Unions are taking legal action today to prevent supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises using a logistics firm to bypass striking distribution workers.

Negotiations today between the two parties started at 9am and ended about midday in a stalemate.

The unions claimed Progressive walked out on today's mediation. But a spokeswoman for the company denied company representatives had walked out.

As the strike enters its sixth day, gaps are showing up on the shelves as dry goods run out and are not able to be restocked from the distribution centres.

Managing director of the Australasian supermarket giant Marty Hamnett has denied union allegations that the company had contracted out its grocery supply to an external company for the duration of the strike.

"What we are doing is circumventing our warehouses and delivering directly to stores," he said.

"All fresh products -- fruit and vegetables, meat, bakery, milk -- and chilled, frozen products remain totally unaffected and are delivered fresh daily."

However, it would be extremely difficult to maintain normal stock levels during the strike, he said.

The National Distribution Union's national secretary Laila Harre said the company was urgently seeking legal advice on the delivery arrangements.

Ms Harre said Progressive had not made any attempt to contact either the union or mediators.

"They seem to be running a PR strategy, not a bargaining strategy."

Progressive's full-page newspaper adverts, which ran in national and regional papers, "were full of lies", Ms Harre said.

Mr Hamnett said Progressive was "always prepared to negotiate but not until striking staff return to work".

The Council of Trade Unions has called on all unions to back the distribution centre workers.

"Management at Progressive Enterprises have been heavy-handed and bullying since the start of the workers' action," CTU president Ross Wilson said.

"We are encouraging unions to support the campaign through messages of solidarity, and with financial support for the locked out workers.

"Union members can also give support by not handling goods that would be processed by the supply chain workers Progressive has locked out."

The union's campaign for a single national collective agreement was backed by the wider union movement, Mr Wilson said.

He said Woolworths Australia was making a massive profit from the New Zealand operation, and the pay rate variability across the company was unfair when the work was identical, regardless of whether it was carried out in Auckland, Palmerston North or Christchurch.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) national secretary Andrew Little said the tactics used by Progressive against the locked out workers was "a case of Australian-style employer aggression".

Mr Little dismissed the multi-billion dollar company's claim that it could not afford a pay rise.

"If they've got enough money for full page newspaper ads across the country, then they've got enough money for a decent pay rise," he said.

- NZPA