Supermarket chain Woolworths is looking at closing down its in-store butchery departments across the entire South Island to instead only stock pre-packaged meat. 

Woolworths are attributing their decision to the difficulty of hiring butchers, but Workers First Union national secretary Rudd Hughes says butchers are only leaving because they can "see the writing on the wall".

"So, although it's only a trial, many of them feel it's a fait accompli, and so they're getting ahead of it and getting out before they can," Hughes told Heather du Plessis-Allan. 

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