Originally Posted by
fungus pudding
For a kick-off Kiwirail is an SOE. This is not the govt's decision. But this had to happen. Hillside workshops belong in a bygone era. Of course it's tough for the employees, but the writings been on the wall for decades. Industries come and go and that's the world; and it's progress. Hillside once had over 800 workers who would build anything you wanted as long as you knew someone there. They ran a thriving business in clothes lines at one stasge. Management were allowed no say - it was run by the union. However that's all history. Dunedin will survive. It's amazing how things like this get so much publicity, but growing enterprises hardly get a mention. While hillside has wound down from 800 workers, the Otago University, Medical School, Dental school, Teachers College and the Polytechnic college have expanded by many thousands more employees. Dunedin is an academic city. There is no point in pretending it's a manufacturing place. That's change. There's nothing that can be done about it other than bs type propping up; and that's the sort of thinking that would still have a blacksmith's shop on every corner.