06 10 05
Sky Riverside workers strike for equal pay
Casino workers at Sky Riverside in Hamilton have tonight walked off the job, on strike over stalled pay negotiations
with their employer.
The workers, members of the Service and Food Workers Union, are demanding pay parity with Auckland casino workers who
earn an average $2 per hour more than their Hamilton counterparts.
Negotiations over eight days have failed to produce an agreement, with the employer refusing to budge on the issue of
pay parity with Auckland.
SFWU has a collective agreement with Sky City Auckland and union members there have seen regular rates increases over
the past few years.
SFWU members at Sky Riverside are negotiating for their first collective agreement with over 80% of the workers
currently members of the union.
“We want to see workers paid the same wage for the same work regardless of where they live. What this amounts to is
workers being squeezed harder for a profit in Hamilton than they are in Auckland, and that’s not fair at all.” says SFWU
Northern Region Secretary Lisa Eldret.
“The company has a policy of treating all the workers equally, but when it comes to pay parity issues they refuse to
talk.” Ms Eldret says.
“This is a very active union site for SFWU, members here have got a lot of energy and they are determined to fight for a
fair deal.” Said Ms Eldret.
ENDS