Demonstration outside shop

Press, 24 September 1980, Page 6

Demonstration outside shop

Three women, and officials from their trade union, demonstrated outside a shop in Colombo Street at lunchtime yesterday in a protest about redundancy. The women, all members of the Canterbury Clothing Trades Union, distributed leaflets to passers-by, saying they had worked for Nancy Lee, Ltd, for II years, seven years, and six years, respectively. The' union’s assistant secretary (Mr P. Conway) said that about two weeks ago the women were told to start looking for another job because - the workroom would close. The workroom is above Maxines, the firm’s retail outlet.

Mr Conway said that attempts by the union to negotiate a redundancy agreement with the company had been unsuccessful. The women had been dismissed last Wednesday and given a week’s pay. in lieu of notice, he said. The union had not been given an opportunity to discuss the company’s financial position, and the company had not made an offer on redundancy. The proprietress, Mrs.E._ J. Donovan, who is visiting Auckland this week, said from Auckland last evening that she had checked with the Labour Department and had found that she had no

legal obligation to pay redundancy money. She had found jobs for the workers with an employer who had said he was prepared to take them immediately, but they had refused to leave.

Enough work had been available for the three workers to last several months, but because of the union’s attitude she had given them notice last week instead of waiting until the work ran out. ' ■ ■ - . . ’

Mr Conway agreed - that the award did not provide for redundancy agreements. Few workers in New Zealand had any legal right to redundancy pay but most employers came to some agreement, he said.

’ The Textile and Garment Manufacturers’ Federation had agreed in a 1978 memorandum to advise all its members to co-operate with unions on settling redundancy agreements. The workers had not accepted the offer of the other job because of uncertainty at that stage about the future of their work with Nancy Lee, Ltd. Mr Conway said that the work offered by Mrs Donovan with the other employer had already been advertised in a newspaper.

Mrs Donovan said that she had also found other jobs for the women.