Rolling strikes spread around the country

11 May 2005

Rolling strikes spread around the country

Strikes throughout ANZ and National banks continued into their fourth day today.

* Bank workers who deal with Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS transactions at ANZ and National banks have just walked off the job in Wellington this afternoon and are picketing on Molesworth St.

* Yesterday Courtney Place branches in Wellington started the day¹s rolling strikes by failing to arrive at work that morning.

* New Plymouth and Waitara also walked from their branch first thing yesterday morning, leaving the Waitara branch closed for their duration of their hour long strike.

* Henderson and New Lynn National branches, in Auckland, stopped work at 2:30. They picketed in Henderson. ANZ Remuera staff also walked at 2:30 and their branch was only kept open in a limited way. ANZ Onehunga was closed completely after staff walked yesterday afternoon.

* Last night the Voucher Processing Centre in Wellington, which deals with many of the bank¹s after hours transactions such as payrolls, walked out of their offices at 7:20pm. After their work schedules were faxed off to the Auckland Voucher Processing Centre, the Aucklanders also walked off the job. Many of these members stayed away for the entire night.

* This morning workers from branches in Dunedin were several hours late to work while they collected large amounts of signatures from supportive public in the Octagon.

* Up further north ANZ and National staff in Manukau both started late for work with the National branch remaining closed for the first part of the morning.

* At 11 today both ANZ and National Papakura branches shut, and a big rowdy picket was held on the main street. They walked earlier than planned to Œadd more surprise¹. Manurewa members walked from their branch after hearing about the success of members walking in Papakura and Manukau.

The bank has been calling in large numbers of casual and temporary workers, as well as managers, to many areas and are trying to predict the pattern of strikes.

More actions around the country are planned for this afternoon and days ahead.

Finsec, the union representing bank staff, is calling on ANZ National Bank to return to the negotiations, which they walked out on last week and address bank workers call for fair compensation for working weekends and late evenings.

ENDS

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