Economic Effects
On the 11th day of the lock out TVNZ reported that gaps on the shelves at Progressive owned supermarkets were becoming the norm. The company stated that it was confident it could keep most shelves stocked, though most customers interviewed by ONE News had noticed gaps. That same day a spokesperson for the company told the Gisborne Herald that there were certainly empty gaps on shelves at most supermarkets, although this was not having an impact on sales, with customers substituting out of stock items for different brands.
One National Distribution Union employee has claimed that the company was paying more than three times what it would normally pay for distribution during the lock-out.
As the dispute entered its third week the locked out workers started to feel the effects of missing three pay cheques, one locked out worker, Virginia Watson, told TVNZ that she was now relying on donations to feed her kids "It's really starting to hurt. The kids haven't had a decent meat and vegetable meal to eat for over a week now, been pretty hard for them." Progressive Enterprises estimated that the workers had collectively lost over $2 million in wages during the dispute.
On 24 October The Press reported that the dispute "took a toll on Australian parent company Woolworths, which reported flat sales in New Zealand for the first quarter"
Read more about this topic: 2006 Progressive Enterprises Dispute
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