Talley's-owned South Pacific Meats has been ordered to pay a worker more than $35,000 after she was subjected to unjustified action and unjustified dismissal.
Katrina Murray was sacked for distributing a Meat Workers Union newsletter at the company's Awarua plant.
Employment Relations Authority also ordered South Pacific Meats to pay a second worker $3700 who pinned the newsletter to the noticeboard.
President of the Otago Southland Branch of the Meat Workers Union, Daryl Carran, said Ms Murray was one of the few workers to come out as a union member at the Awarua plant in Invercargill and the company tried to punish her for it.
Mr Carran said the second worker innocently thought that other workers might be interested in the union news and the company tried to punish him as well.
