NZDWU/Fonterra Ingredients Collective Agreement Ratified

The 2006/07 Fonterra Ingredients Agreement has been ratified by union members with a substantial vote in favour of the settlement.
It provides for a 4.33% wage increase except in the case of tanker drivers who have a 1% reduction in hours for the same pay and a 3.33% increase applied to their annual rate. New drivers are able to be employed on 50 or 100 less annual hours packages.

Improvements to the agreement include the provision for an extra day's public holiday which moves the entitlement from 10 to 11 days for all full time permanent workers in addition to the extra week's leave which comes into affect on July 1 2007.

The allowance for issuing Permits to Work has more than doubled, there is extension to medical insurance cover to provide for GP visits and prescription costs associated with mental health issues and the paid parental leave entitlement moves from 12 to 14 weeks.

During the negotiations Fonterra put a lot of pressure on the union with regard to annualised hours and rosters - they want more flexibility.

A working party will convene during the term to examine these issues. We will also want to discuss what the union believes is excessive use of contractors in the transport area.

The term is one year and the expiry date is 1 September 2007.