A fundraiser has been launched for any affected employees
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) has condemned the actions of a toilet paper manufacturer as "shameful," after the employer locked out and threatened its employees with a $500,000 legal action.
NZCTU president Richard Wagstaff described the actions of the company as "retaliatory behaviour," adding that it was an attempt of intimidation against employees.
"New Zealanders will not stand for any company treating their people so poorly," he said.
The legal action from the employer is reportedly related to the technicalities of a strike action held by employees back in July, according to the Pulp and Paper Workers Union, which insisted that its action was legal.
It also took place while company locked out 145 employees from its mill in Kawerau since August 9, preventing them from reporting to work and receiving pay, after wage negotiations fell apart.
In addition to this, the company also reportedly instructed its superannuation provider to prevent employees from making financial hardship withdrawals from their own savings.
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Tane Phillips, Pulp and Paper Workers Union national secretary, accused the manufacturer of "starvation tactics."
"We must stand together with Kawerau Mill workers and their whānau," said Phillips in a statement.
To help the locked-out employees, the NZCTU has launched a fundraiser to support them.
In a show of support to the affected employees, the Maritime Union of New Zealand also said it has been contributing financially to the locked-out workers, adding that they would ramp up their support if their employer continued to "starve the workers into submission."
"These are New Zealand workers who are being subjected to starvation tactics by an overseas-owned corporate that makes a lot of money in and from New Zealand," said Craig Harrison, national secretary of the Maritime Union of NZ.
"This is a very solid community of essential workers, and they deserve the support of all New Zealanders."
