Members to campaign against dependent contracting

July 8, 2009
Media Release

EPMU members to campaign against dependent contracting

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union delegates from the telecommunication sector will meet in Auckland next Wednesday to plan the details of their campaign to stop Visionstream’s dependent contractor model.

Visionstream has announced plans to force hundreds of telecommunications technicians who maintain Chorus’ Auckland and Northland networks to subcontract if they want to retain the work – a move that could cost individual workers up to $60,000 in equipment.

EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says members have roundly rejected the move.

“Unsurprisingly our members don’t want to fork out tens of thousands of dollars, lose their job security and take on all the risks associated with the industry just to keep doing the work they do now but with no bargaining power.

“They’ve told us they want to negotiate with Visionstream as a group through the union and instructed us that the dependent contractor model is unacceptable. We’ll be meeting with Visionstream in the near future to discuss this.

“Chorus themselves have stated they need these workers because of the skills shortage and yet they are backing a contractor that seems to be doing its best to drive them out of the industry.

“Given we are talking about all of Auckland and Northland’s telecommunications infrastructure we would hope that Visionstream recognises the implications if it continues with this course of action.”

The EPMU represents 45,000 working New Zealanders including more than 1300 in the telecommunications industry.

ENDS

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