A decision to do something about lifting their wages has seen Wellington Bidvest workers win increases of up to $3 an hour.

Bidvest, a food distribution company, has recently settled a new collective agreement for drivers and stores workers at its Porirua site in Wellington.

It came about after delegate Chris Toa (pictured, centre) hosted a meeting for workers at his house to discuss lifting their pay.

“We had a meeting and made a decision to all join a union.”

“We talked about it – we knew the only way to make a change was to come together as a bigger group.”

“Most of the guys were in agreement so I made the approach to the NDU. We organised ourselves –most of the work was already done before we joined.”

The new collective agreement sees increases of $1 to $2 for all workers, with some getting $3 an hour more.

“In terms of the negotiations, the company were really good; there was not a lot of argument at all.”

“The guys were happy. It went quite smoothly.”

“Being in a collective was how we were going to make it work. I think it shows that perhaps we should have done it years ago!”

(Source: National Distribution Union)