Former Tachikawa sawmill workers in Rotorua will receive a payout from the company's receiver before Christmas.
The sawmill laid off 120 kaimahi [workers] - most of them Maori - in October.
First Union, which represents 80 staff, organised a rally last week after the redundancy payout was threatened by a log supply firm wanting all of its investment back from Tachikawa's receiver, KordaMentha.
Union general secretary Robert Reid says the receiver has agreed to pay out redundancies, so workers can still claim any unemployment benefit from Work and Income.
Staff who are entitled to wages, holiday pay and redundancy compensation are allowed up to a maximum of about $20,000 under receivership law. Under a deal reached with the union, workers will receive 43 cents in the dollar, meaning the most one could receive was $8600 before tax.
KordaMentha plans to make the 43 cents in the dollar payout before Christmas, as well as an as-yet-unquantified sum in the New Year.
