Union Pact Targets Major Export Sector

Some of the largest private sector unions will today sign an agreement to work together to improve the pay and conditions in one of the country's biggest export sectors, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.The unions with members in the food sector - the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, the Service and Food Workers Union, the National Distribution Union, the Dairy Workers Union and the meat unions, will sign up to the agreement in Wellington.

"These unions will work together to promote collective bargaining so their members have the best chance at getting fair pay, training opportunities, better health and safety and other workplace improvements," Carol Beaumont said.

Such improvements would also make the food sector more attractive to workers and advance productivity, she said.

Unions were committed to working with others in the food sector to improve overall performance. Two representatives of the CTU ? Carol Beaumont and the secretary of the Dairy Workers Union, James Ritchie - have recently been appointed to the Food and Beverage Sector Taskforce.

"The challenge to employers is to meet with unions on an industry-wide basis so we can work together to make these improvements which will not only benefit workers, but the industry as a whole," Carol Beaumont said.