Hygiene concerns in job cuts

Cleaners at Auckland Meat Processors are being gagged from speaking out about what recent job cuts could mean for hygiene, according to their union, E tu¯ .

Cleaning contractor ISS cut five of the 15 cleaners, who will finish working for the company full time tomorrow.

ISS proposed to cut one-third of the meat plant’s cleaning staff in early February, and E tu¯ submitted an opposition to the cut.

E tu¯ senior organiser Len Richards said cleaners have told him the cuts would compromise hygiene standards at the plant and they wanted to go public with their concerns, but fear retribution.

‘‘The cleaners who are doing the critical cleaning around where the meat is processed have had their hours cut and their staff has been slashed from 13 to eight.’’

The meat plant, owned by Wilson Hellaby, processes most of Auckland’s beef supply, with Countdown as its major customer.

ISS has told staff that if they talked to media they would lose their jobs, Richards said.

ISS New Zealand chief operating officer Paul Archer said this was not true, and the job cuts would ‘‘absolutely not’’ impact food safety or hygiene. He called the claims ‘‘disappointing spin’’.

E tu¯ would appeal any job lost due to speaking out through the Employment Relations Authority, but it would take months and there was no guarantee any settlement would cover costs.

Richards said it was ‘‘disgraceful that cleaners have been muzzled to stop them from airing legitimate worries about the safety of these cuts’’.

The axed workers were offered casual work at the plant, he said. ‘‘There is no such thing as redundancy payments in this industry.’’