Sky City Workers Strike Again

Sky City workers have walked off the job again this morning in protest at the Company’s sky-high profits and basement wages.

Sky City’s record profit announcement today, along with a potential Tourism Award this evening in Rotorua, has further angered the workers, who have been trying to get Sky City to improve their wage offer beyond 2.5%.

Meanwhile, the union for Sky City workers, the Service & Food Workers Union (SFWU) is preparing legal action for what it says were unlawful suspensions last Saturday night, after Sky workers were suspended when they tried to return to work after a two-hour strike.

But the union has decided not to lay a complaint against the Security Guard who assaulted SFWU National Secretary (and also CTU Vice President) Darien Fenton on Saturday night. Other incidents erupted when the workers tried to go back to work and were shut out by aggressive security management. One worker was knocked down and another was ‘roughed up’ as he was escorted to retrieve his belongings.

“We blame the management fairly and squarely for allowing the security officers to get overheated and out of hand on Saturday night” says Darien Fenton.

“The last thing I want to be responsible for is getting any worker disciplined, but we have asked Sky to arrange education for security officers, in conjunction with the union, on the right of workers to take lawful and peaceful action” says Ms Fenton.

“The sooner Sky realises that all is not well with their staff and that they need to start listening and taking union members seriously, the sooner we can get this dispute resolved.”

While workers are off the job today they will picket outside the casino beginning at 10am.

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