Kinleith workers, members of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), described in phone interviews a “jubilant” mood at a celebration in Tokoroa the following evening.

They also offered a balanced assessment of the settlement as a whole. “It was about smashing the union, attacking our wages and conditions,” said unionist Pete Mathis. “They haven’t done it this time really, but I’m pretty confident it will be an ongoing thing.”

A central issue in the strike was the company’s demand to be able to assign or promote workers to jobs at its discretion, rather than n through a union-enforced seniority system. The new contract gives the company a final say over senior appointments, but only if two panels with joint company-union representation have been unable to reach agreement. The company has also agreed to retain a specialist fire-fighting and chemical spills unit, dropping plans to require production workers to cover these emergencies on top of their own jobs, a move the union said would have seriously compromised safety standards.

Workers expressed reservations about the new shift pattern, which will see them working 12-hour days on a four-day-on, four-day-off roster. Instead of being paid an hourly rate with overtime pay after eight hours, they will be paid an annual “salary.” Under this setup they can be asked to work up to 15 extra 12-hour shifts a year with no extra pay, although in the final negotiations the company agreed no worker can be called in on more than one of his or her four days off, and then no more than once a month.

Dave Jennings, a production worker at the plant for 25 years, said that in his opinion accepting a basic compulsory 12-hour day was “a step backward for the union. We won the eight-hour day 100 years ago.”

The Kinleith workers received wide support during their fight. Fellow timber workers, EPMU members at other sites, and unionists such as wharf and rail workers, made financial contributions. Representatives of the strike visited workplaces around the country and in Australia to explain the issues. The strikers maintained a round-the-clock protest camp on the main highway at the mill entrance, where they welcomed a steady stream of well-wishers, including local residents and passing truck drivers and motorists who often brought donations of food or money.

“It’s been worth it, definitely,” said Mathis. “The first contract they offered us at the start of the dispute was draconian. We’ve come 150 percent from there, and we know that. No matter where I go in the community, I get a pat on the back and thanks for staying in there.”  
 
 
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