The Court of Appeal’s overturning of an Employment Court ruling that the use of strike breakers during the 2009 dispute between the Dairy Workers Union and the Talley’s company, Open Country Cheese is welcome, even if it comes too late for the workers who were involved in that dispute.
The intention of s97 of the Employment Relations Act is to ensure that workers can take lawful strike action without being starved into submission by a company being able to operate with replacement labour. The right to strike has long been regarded as a fundamental protection for workers, for obvious reasons. In the absence of a right to strike workers have no protection against the inherently unequal bargaining power of employers. Firm anti strike breaking measures are needed.
The Court of Appeal has clearly restated the right of workers to take strike action and was equally clear that s86 of the Employment Relations Act prohibits employers from engaging strike breakers in an attempt to break the strike.
It’s just a pity that this decision came too late to enable a fair outcome for workers who were seeking the right to organise a union collective at Open Country Cheese. The actions of Open Country Cheese at the time were appalling, with intentionally intimidating actions, including locking out the workers.
However, it’s better late than never. I am pleased that the Court has upheld the intention of the law so that workers and employers are clear about their rights and obligations when industrial action takes place.
It’s really hard for workers to access collective bargaining, particularly where their employer is determined to defeat them. This will be looked at again as we develop Labour’s employment relations policy for the election.
Vindication!
!
Darien are you sure you should be posting on this.
Aren’t Talleys major supporters of Winston Peters and NZ First and doesn’t Labour desperately need him/them on board to be even remote contenders on the 26 November.
pdm, Talleys are not friends of workers and unions. We know that locally. My daughter worked for them, as well. The truth about such employers needs to be told.
That is what the Labour Party I belong to is about. The behaviour you seem to be advocating gives pollies and their supporters a bad name- shut up about wrong behaviour for short term political advantage. Tells me more about you than the Labour Party.
There are some problems also with your political analysis about 26 November. For another time.
Well done to NZDWU National Secretary James Ritchie, staff and legal counsel at the NZ Dairy Workers Union for following this issue through to appeal stage. This is an important precedent for other workers to consider in their collective agreement situations.
The NZ police appear usually within minutes when an employer calls them, it will be interesting to see how they go about enforcing this ‘no scabs allowed” ruling from the Appeal Court.
Mac1 – are you saying Helen Clark did not tolerate the behaviour of Winston Peters for Political expediency?
Congratulations to the Dairy Workers Union for sticking to this issue. Even though it is too late for the workers at Open Country Cheeses, it is a great victory for other New Zealand workers in upholding their right to be free of coercion during legal strikes.
pdm
1. You’ve changed your ground from November 2011 back into the past, and
2. what was it that Peters did wrong again similar to Talley’s court-adjudged illegality?
@ pdm… your comments are both irrelevant, and insulting. your history of behavior on this, and other sites shows that this is deliberate. being obnoxious at the expense of the workers of nz is depicable.
the beghavior of the management of open country cheeses was nothing less than craven…. disquieting to think that our own prime minister was, or is(blind trust anyone?) a shareholder, along with other senior national party figures…
how can they claim to be competent to represent all new zealanders when this is the way they conduct their private business..where where the journalist(s) bringing this blatant attack on new zealands workers to the attention of the public..
it was the scource of quite some bitterness in the waikato. not least for the(justified) feeling that their plight was largely ignored(deliberate?) by the main news outlets..