22 Dec 2011

Meat union members accept settlement

1:24 pm on 22 December 2011

Members of the Meatworkers Union at the CMP Rangitikei lamb processing plant at Marton, have accepted an offer from the company and will be back at work by the New Year.

They had been locked out since October after refusing to take a pay cut and accept other changes to working conditions.

Union secretary Dave Eastlake says that while some pay cuts have been agreed, they were reduced to a level that the members were prepared to accept.

He says other conditions that the company sought to remove have been put back in the new agreement and the members will be paid $500 on the return to work.

About 200 other employees who signed individual contracts, were working during the lock-out.