Strikes at Bridgestone NZ

Staff at Bridgestone’s Christchurch tyre plant will start picketing today, reports a New Zealand newspaper, in protest of their unsettled wage claims.
The workers, members of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), have been on an indefinite strike since 9 April after negotiations with the company broke down on 21 March.

Union delegate Dave Cahill said that the workers want a five per cent pay rise, shift allowances and a minimum of nine statutory holidays each year. An irregularity in the existing agreement meant some staff received as few as three statutory days off annually, he said.