Progressive accused of employing 'dirty tactics' in dispute

Australasian supermarket giant Progressive Enterprises Limited (PEL) is employing "nasty tactics" as its dispute with about 600 distribution workers reaches 12 days without resolution, National Distribution Union publicity officer Simon Oosterman said today.

Forty-two of the company's 93 Palmerston North workers left the picket line yesterday and rejoined the workforce.

The company has said non-union staff will receive pay reviews, a move Mr Oosterman says is designed to "de-unionise" supermarkets.

The workers began what was meant to be a 48-hour strike over a pay dispute on August 25, but were locked out by PEL three days later.

Mediation between the two parties broke down early on and an Employment Court judge order to resume negotiations has failed to find a solution.

The workers want a national collective agreement to cover the country's four distribution centres but PEL said the agreements were historically and necessarily separate.

Yesterday, an Employment Court judge refused an interim injunction request from NDU to prevent the company using delivery firms to replace the locked-out staff -- the case will go to hearing next week.

Mr Oosterman said despite the Palmerston North workers' return, morale on the picket lines remained strong.

He said he could understand the pressure the returning workers were under.

"Those people are under financial stress," he said.

"That's partly why we're launching a financial appeal, so the rest of the workers don't feel they need to return to work because they're being bullied into starving."

The union is launching an 0900 LOCK OUT (0900 5685 688) number today to raise donations for the locked-out workers.

They had already received support from other unions and members of the public, he said.

PEL was meeting with other supermarket workers this week to discuss their pay demands and had promised those on individual contracts pay rises, he said.

"That's a pretty nasty tactic," he said.

"It's an attempt to de-unionise supermarkets."

PEL was also distorting what the workers wanted -- telling supermarket customers their demands amounted to a 30 per cent payrise, when in fact the total was between 10 and 12 per cent.

The unions had been prepared to negotiate and their request had been a bargaining position, Mr Oosterman said.

However, PEL had not come to the negotiating table.

PEL has described the union's demands as a "major stumbling block".

"Frankly, it feels like we are being held to ransom, but I am happy our contingency plans are beginning to see stock flow through to stores," managing director Marty Hamnett said.

He said the union had not considered the impact of its "unrealistic demands" on employment costs, saying they would affect all of the company's employees and customers.

Mr Hamnett said negotiations could not begin until the unions dropped their demands for a single national agreement.

- NZPA