increase font size
The Dairy Workers Union says redundancies at a Fonterra packaging plant in Waikato will come as a heavy blow to those affected and the union will be doing everything it can to support workers.
Fonterra are proposing 114 positions - of which approximately 80 are Dairy Workers Union members' positions - are made redundant at its Canpac packing operations facility in Hamilton.
"This announcement is the start of a consultation phase and we will be talking to our members and with the company to create good options for affected workers," says Dairy Workers Union national secretary Chris Flatt.
"Dairy Workers Union members at the site are covered by a collective agreement, and we are using the processes set out in the agreement to protect workers as much as possible."
"A consultative committee will now be established to minimise the impact on workers. We are working with the company on options like redeployment inside the business and in the wider Fonterra group as well as voluntary redundancies."
Dairy Workers Union members at Canpac have redundancy compensation provisions in their collective agreement.
Fonterra plans to realign its packing operations at Canpac, in the Waikato, to focus more on paediatric nutritionals.
The proposal would see Canpac move to operating 24 hours a day, Monday-to-Friday, instead of the current seven days a week operation. The plant employs 330 people.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
OPINION: Farmer shareholders of two of New Zealand's largest co-operatives have an important decision to make this month and what they decide could change the landscape of the dairy and meat sectors in New Zealand.
OPINION: As CEO of the Dairy Board in the 1980s I was fortunate to work with a team of experienced and capable executives who made most of the brand investments that created the international consumer business Fonterra inherited. Soprole in Chile was the largest, but there were more than 20 countries where consumer marketing companies were established and Anchor and other brands were successfully launched.
Fonterra has delivered a fifth straight year of record organic milk price for farmer suppliers.
Fonterra says favourable weather conditions supporting pasture growth is boosting milk production.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…
