Posts Tagged ‘open country cheese’

Key, Creech, and the Dairy Investment Fund

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 am, June 17th, 2010 - 45 comments

The media has concluded that John Key’s trust isn’t blind. It owns an investment company that is in business with Wyatt Creech in dairying. Creech was getting briefings from National on its water policy long before it appointed him to conduct an ‘independent’ review of Ecan, which resulted in the abolition of the democratically-elected council to advance the interests of dairy.

Industrial roundup: Open Country

Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, October 5th, 2009 - 4 comments

Last week the Employment Court decided that Talleys-owned Open Country was acting illegally in locking out its unionised staff. The Court upheld the right of workers to demand a collective agreement and stated it was illegal for the Talleys to lock them out rather than attempt collective negiotations. Despite this, the lockout continues and the […]

Open Country shows contempt for the law

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, September 30th, 2009 - 8 comments

The Talleys and National Party linked Open Country Cheese continues to show its contempt for the law as it attempts to break the Dairy Workers Union. You’ll be aware that Open Country laid down a six week lockout notice to try and force workers to leave the union. So far it hasn’t worked and on […]

Open Country now assaulting workers

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, September 23rd, 2009 - 68 comments

The Talleys-owned Open Country Cheese dispute took a new turn today after it was revealed that a senior manager, not content with just bullying workers, has assaulted one of them. Here’s what Giovanni Moana, the worker concerned, had to say: “I was told to put my head through a window in the packing room at […]

Farmers Weekly on Open Country

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, September 23rd, 2009 - 11 comments

Reader sent in this cartoon from the latest NZ Farmers Weekly. Things have got to be bad for Open Country when even the farming press is turning on them.

Nat-linked company tries to bully workers

Written By: - Date published: 5:39 pm, September 22nd, 2009 - 15 comments

The Open Country Cheese dispute is getting nastier by the day. The workers began their eight-day strike last week. The Talley’s and National Party-linked company responded by bringing in strike-busters (farmers, apparently) to take the workers’ place, which is illegal. On Saturday, one of these untrained strike-breakers allowed polluted sludge from the factory to flow […]

Open Country polluting our rivers too

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, September 19th, 2009 - 20 comments

The Talleys and National Party-linked Open Country Cheese is currently trying to run its factory without its workers as it attempts to bust the union and casualise its workforce. They’ve said they’re running the factory (arguably illegally) with local farmers and strike-breakers flown in from other parts of the country. Problem is, these people aren’t […]

National-linked dairy company threatens six week lockout

Written By: - Date published: 12:26 pm, September 11th, 2009 - 31 comments

There’s a nasty dispute brewing at Open Country Cheese involving a six week lockout threat, some highly aggressive anti-union PR, calls for the Government to gut labour laws and major links between the company and senior National Party figures. It’s early days yet, but this could be a big one. Open Country Cheese was founded […]