Auckland power line engineers start strike action

Auckland power line engineers start strike action tonight

Auckland power line engineers in the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) have voted to take strike action from midnight tonight, rejecting an offer from Electrix which included a pay freeze till the end of 2012.

The strike action will go ahead tonight despite an eleventh hour bid by Electrix to obtain an injunction. The company had its application declined by the Employment Court yesterday.

The action is being taken by over 80 line engineers employed by Electrix, one of the contracting companies for the Auckland Vector network, and includes a ban on overtime, callout and standby arrangements.

“Our members are taking a stand against Electrix’s offer ¬of a 30 month pay freeze," says EPMU electrical sector organiser Joe Gallagher. "A pay freeze would have been, in effect, a pay cut for our members because inflation is set to rise to 6% next year and GST will go up by 2.5% following the Budget.”

“Electrix also proposed to cut the value of the employer’s superannuation contribution from 6% down to 2%,” he says. "That would have put us even further behind the 9% that employers contribute to employee superannuation in the Australian electrical sector."

“Electrix will benefit from the 5% cut in company tax the government handed them in the recent Budget so we know they can afford to pay more,” he says.

“If our members had voted to accept the company’s offer it would have been a step backwards, taking them below the Auckland industry standard they are currently on.”

"For New Zealand workers to achieve pay parity with their Australian counterparts, wages and employer super contributions need to go up, not down.”

“Nothing in the current economic conditions justifies workers taking what amounts to a pay cut from employers. This is a time when we need to see real improvements if workers are to avoid a decline in their standard of living and if we are to start closing the gap with Australia.”

“Electrix would be better to spend its time trying to fix the dispute rather than taking expensive and fruitless legal action.”

The line engineers taking the strike action are responsible for maintaining around half of Auckland’s power line network, from Manukau to Warkworth.

ENDS

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