Automobile Association workers call for boss to come back

Automobile Association workers call for boss to come back to the table

AA call centre workers are asking their employer to bring a fair and reasonable offer to the bargaining table so they can get back to providing great service to AA members.

At a stop-work meeting held yesterday in Auckland, the workers, who are members of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, passed a resolution calling on the AA to rejoin negotiations and drop their attempts to claw back important terms and conditions.

“The AA are trying to relitigate important conditions in the collective agreement,” says Joe Gallagher, EPMU industry organiser. “They’ve dragged out bargaining for almost a year already and are demanding workers sign up to a new roster without seeing it first.

“The workers in the call centre just want to provide good service to AA members, and they can’t do that while the boss is refusing to negotiate in good faith.”

If the AA doesn’t budge, the call centre operators will meet again in one week to decide whether they need to take industrial action.

Further AA industrial action

AA Service Officers, who attend vehicle breakdowns for AA members, have already decided to take industrial action. They are being offered only a 1.5% pay increase after refusing to allow management to change their rosters without agreement.

“The AA is a trusted, iconic New Zealand organisation,” says Joe Gallagher. “But they don’t want to give their workers job security or a fair pay rise. They’ve dragged out bargaining to undermine the union and take advantage of National’s anti-union employment laws.

“Across the country we’re seeing companies trying to run down workers’ conditions – Steel and Tube did it earlier this year, the ANZ and AA are trying it now. And this is in a context where Bill English and the Treasury are talking up predictions of job growth and 3.4% wage increases.

“Our workers are standing together in their union and saying it’s not good enough. They’re going to take industrial action to fight for secure hours of work and fair treatment from the boss.”

ENDS

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