Support For Telco Workers Grows

Support For Telco Workers Grows

Media Release: National Distribution Union
Thursday 20 August 2009

Support for the Telco workers made redundant by Telecom contractors has grown with New Zealand’s second biggest private sector union, the National Distribution Union, throwing its weight behind the workers and their union, the EPMU.

“Two huge Auckland NDU Stop work meetings of almost 1,500 workers held yesterday heard from EPMU senior official, Mike Sweeney on the telco dispute and resolved to support the affected workers. These two meetings and one in Silverdale last week raised almost $1,000 in donations for the workers’ fighting fund,” says NDU National Secretary, Robert Reid.

“NDU members were astounded to learn that the workers were being made redundant from companies such as Transfield and Downer EDI who had lost their Telecom contract and were being forced to buy their jobs back from the new contractor Visionstream, not as workers but as dependent contractors. They heard that to buy a “business”could cost up to $60,000 with Visionstream offering a loan of only $3,000 to “help workers into the business”.

“NDU members in the driving industry had faced similar issues a number of years ago when trucking firms turned employed drivers into “owner-drivers”. This turned into a disaster for many workers who mortgaged their house to buy a truck as a dependent contractor, only to find that they were left high and dry when work was reduced. Some of these workers lost their houses because of this dependent contract arrangement. Although some owner drivers still exist the trend now seems to be the other way,” Robert Reid says.

“The NDU will be supporting the EPMU and their Telco members at today’s Council of Trade Unions National Affiliate Council Meeting in Wellington. The NDU will also support global union pressure through UNI, the Global Union Federation for Telco workers to which both the NDU and EPMU belong,” Robert Reid says.

ENDS

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