4 June 2014

Sitel jobs coming to New Zealand isn’t all good news

There’s not much cause to celebrate in the news that 139 jobs at Sitel in Australia will be moving to New Zealand, says the union for telecommunications workers, the EPMU.

The US company announced last week that it is moving jobs to New Zealand because labour is cheaper here.

“That’s not good news for workers or the New Zealand economy,” says Anita Rosentreter, EPMU organiser. “These jobs aren’t secure and they don’t give workers a chance to build a real career or plan for their future.

“Last year we lost 100 jobs from Sitel in Auckland. They went to Australia and the Philippines.

“This is the price of the government’s low-wage economy. Even if jobs do come here in the short term, they can go just as quickly – moved to countries where workers are paid even less, or places like Australia which invest in skills and infrastructure.

“New Zealanders deserve secure, skilled jobs with a future, not short-term contracts which could be gone tomorrow.”

ENDS

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