Lies Management Tell

1. The reason there are different wage rates in different areas reflects different costs (either of the company or of the workers).

This is an interesting reading of history. In 2003 Progressive shut down the Auckland and Christchurch distribution centres and made the workers redundant. They then reopened the distribution centres someone else and rehired some of the same workers back on lower wages. They weren't able to do this in Palmerston North, because they couldn't get a new site. The only reason that Progressive pay less in Palmerston North and Christchurch is because they can - and the workers are trying to change that.

2. The Union has demanded a 30% pay increase

Now I have no objection to workers getting 30% - in fact I fully support any claim in double digits. But the union's claim isn't for 30%. It is for a single agreement and an 8% pay increase. For a small numbers of workers that might mean a 30% pay increase, but the vast majority of workers would get less. The company wants people to think the workers claim is unreasonable - but the union is willing to talk - it's the company that walked out of bargaining

EDITED: I had a date wrong in my original post