Petition is successful with 3 signatures
To: Huckleberry
Fair wages for Huckleberry workers
We negotiated an increase on the morning of our strike. The company have committed to a Living Wage by May 2019.
Dear Huckleberry,
As a brand selling organic and ethical products, we assumed that you would pay your staff a Living Wage.
We are really disappointed to hear that this is not the case, and that you have disagreed to move to Living Wage when asked to do so in union bargaining.
Workers deserve to earn enough money to live with dignity in our society. This is what a Living Wage is for. Investing in the wellbeing of your workers should come before opening new stores and expanding your business.
Your customers shop with Huckleberry because we believe in the organic and ethical ethos you present. We expect you to be leading by example, not lagging behind.
We urge you to act according to your principles and pay your staff a fair wage.
Why is this important?
Huckleberry is a chain of organic supermarkets that is rapidly expanding across New Zealand. It is owned and backed by the same group as EcoStore.
Huckleberry workers are paid as little as 50c above the minimum wage. On the whole, Huckleberry workers are paid less than workers at most mainstream supermarkets.
FIRST Union has been bargaining with Huckleberry since December 2017 for increased and better conditions. Union members originally asked to be paid the Living Wage (then $20.20 per hour), but this was refused.
The Living Wage is the hourly wage a worker needs to pay for the necessities of life and participate as an active citizen in the community. It is calculated independently each year, and is currently 20.55 per hour.
As it stands, many workers at Huckleberry struggle to pay their rent, or to afford the organic and ethical products they sell each day.
Recently, the L'Oreal Distribution Centre in Mangere jumped from a the minimum wage to the Living Wage:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/103003822/loreal-to-pay-living-wage-in-mangere-distribution-centre
Another New Zealand organic company, Tonzu, was the first Auckland-based employer to sign on to the Living Wage movement: http://tonzu.co.nz/about/living-wage/
Huckleberry has demonstrated that it has the resources to open new stores and expand its business. It should take a leaf from Tonzu's and L'Oreal's books and invest the resources to fairly pay its staff.
FIRST Union members at Huckleberry are taking industrial action to support their cause. Your support would help a lot. Please sign the petition and share widely.
More on the Living Wage: https://www.livingwage.org.nz/
How it will be delivered
In person, at the Huckleberry Head Offices in Parnell, Auckland.