By KEVIN TAYLOR
The Engineers Union is threatening legal action over Carter Holt Harvey's six-day forced shutdown of the Kinleith pulp and paper mill.
Carter Holt says the shutdown of the Tokoroa mill, which started yesterday, was necessary because of falling demand on world markets.
The mill's 750 staff have been forced to take leave, but the union said yesterday that it would contest the move's legality.
Papers will be filed next week with the Employment Relations Authority requesting that workers' leave be reinstated, says Engineers Union national secretary Andrew Little.
The workers claim that under their contract they cannot be ordered to take holidays.
The shutdown is believed to be the first big wind-down at the 47-year-old mill.
Between 200 and 300 of the mill's 570 union members were expected at a protest near the plant yesterday, but bad weather kept many away and only 40 to 50 turned out.
Kinleith general manager Brice Landman denied that Carter Holt was acting illegally, saying the company was sure of its position.
He said the shutdown had been an extremely serious decision, and would cost Carter Holt a six-figure sum daily.
He would not be more specific.
"I think our employees have to appreciate the realities of business.
"We have fought very hard for many months to avoid a shutdown."
The protest is one of several industrial disputes simmering around the country.
Carter Holt is also involved in a bitter dispute with the Waterfront Workers Union over Tauranga-based Mainland Stevedoring loading logships at South Island ports, using mainly out-of-town casual staff instead of union members.
On Wednesday, Carter Holt, the union and Mainland agreed to mediation. A Carter spokeswoman said yesterday that a formal invitation to mediation had not yet been received, but the company supported any initiative to resolve the three-month dispute.
Industrial action is also looming in the meat trade.
Meat and fish process-plant veterinarians have rejected a pay offer and renewed a threat to strike next Saturday.
A three-hour strike each day from February 3 to 22, followed by full-day strikes, would come at the worst possible time for the industry, says the Meat Industry Association.
The industry is preparing to supply the highly profitable European lamb market over the Easter period.
The 120 vets employed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry verification agency oversee the slaughter and processing of stock and fish for local and export markets.
Ministry spokesman Anthony Keesing said mediation had been arranged between MAF and the National Union of Public Employees for Monday.
In another dispute, workers have been picketing Golden Bay Cement's factory near Whangarei after six redundancies.
Engineers Union Northland organiser Derek Overmire said the redundancies were a smack on the nose for the workforce, shortly after the company made a net profit of $23 million.
The company intends to contract out its maintenance workshop.
Mr Overmire said staff were also angry that the company planned to reduce the 120-strong workforce to 70 within the next few years.
Portland site manager Robert Walsh said the company believed contracting out the maintenance work was the best option for the cement works. The company had offered to take the issue to mediation.
Competitiveness, not protection, must rule
Union steels for action on Kinleith forced leave
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