News

Negotiations with Alcan Packaging in Wellington have taken a turn for the better after a quick check of their profits showed their propose wage freeze had no justification.

The company, which was owned by multinational giant Rio Tinto until recently, had made members an offer of zero percent despite their profits increasing by nearly a million dollars.

EPMU organiser Mark James says the company gave multiple reasons for making a nil offer. "We were told that it was the recession, that they were unsure of the future and that it was a competitive market."

"Luckily it was a listed company so I was able to check their finances and found they have increased their profits by nearly a million dollars just last year," says James, "since then the nil offer has come off the table."

"This isn't the first time I've had a profitable company try to offer a nil settlement," he says, "at the moment a lot of companies are using the recession as an excuse to push wages down so it's important to make them open the books,"

"If the boss says there's no money for a pay rise you shouldn't take it at face value."

http://www.epmu.org.nz/news/show/172846