Union says workers locked out at Purex toilet paper manufacturer

About 145 workers have been locked out indefinitely without pay at the Kawerau manufacturer of Purex toilet paper, the union said on Tuesday.

The workers had been seeking an inflation adjustment as part of their collective employment agreement negotiations, said Pulp and Paper Union Kawerau secretary Tane Phillips​.

Annual consumers price index inflation was 7.3% in the year ended June 2022.

The company was offering a 3% pay rise plus a cash incentive of $1500 per year over three years.

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“But along with the 3%, that’s just over half of CPI,” Phillips said.

“All we really want right now is to get the company to the negotiating table, we don’t mind if it’s facilitated bargaining, and we’re the third party in there helping, we want to conclude bargaining.”

The workers were locked out by the owner, Swedish hygiene product company Essity, just after midday on Tuesday.

The lockout was open-ended unless union members accepted the deal that Essity put on the table, he said.

“We’re talking about some guys who have done over 40 years on that site, so they’re invested in that site and that community.

“Kawerau hasn’t got a lot of good-paying jobs, so we treasure those but we’ve got to fight .. so we keep up.

“We’re not asking for anything out of the ordinary in New Zealand at this point in time.”

The workers at the plant had worked during Covid and kept New Zealand supplied with toilet paper “while their managers in Australia and New Zealand stayed at home keeping their families safe”, he said.

“Now they ask for a fair pay rise, they get locked out.”

Stuff has tried to contact Essity, which has about 326 employees in New Zealand, including more than 200 in Kawerau.

Essity’s brands include Purex, Sorbent and Handee.