A major Waikato packaging manufacturer looks likely to lay off staff, citing a downturn in business.
Canpac, which took out the 2010 Pride In Print supreme award, looks likely to axe 110 of the 330 jobs at its Waikato packing plant. Robert Spurway, director of New Zealand operations for Fonterra, says, “This will be a blow for our people and we will do everything we can to work with them to find new opportunities at our other sites in the Waikato and further afield should they need them.”
Bill Newsom, EPMU secretary
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), which represents more than 600 workers at Fonterra and its subsidiaries, says today’s announcement, “shows the dangers of relying on dairy exports to China to sustain our economy.”
Bill Newsom, EPMU national secretary, says, “It is abundantly clear that New Zealand needs a national strategy for skills, jobs, and a strong manufacturing sector which isn’t reliant on the price of commodities like milk powder.
“It’s not good enough for the government to sit on its hands and talk about a rock-star economy while our regions continue to suffer and well-paid, skilled jobs are vanishing.”
EPMU members may receive redundancy compensation as part of their collective agreement but the union will work closely with Fonterra to minimise job losses.
