It's now been 95 days since meat workers in Wairoa were locked out of AFFCO Talleys.
To help families survive, the Meat Workers Union has been handing out weekly food parcels. Almost 200 food parcels have been distributed to families that haven't worked in 14 weeks or more. The Union has also been helping families with rent and mortgage expenses.
According to Union member, Liz Marshall, “I wouldn't be able to get through the week without these food drops. I mean they're essential for my life, without them I'd be in the gutter dying.”
The long running employment dispute over Individual Employment Agreements imposed on workers, demanding less pay and longer hours, ended in an Employment Court win for the Meat Workers Union in November.
Workers want to return to work, but only under the old Collective. The Union says interim solutions to move forward have been thrown out by AFFCO Talleys.
The dispute will continue in Court on Monday.