Historic KiwiRail employment agreement signed

Historic KiwiRail employment agreement signed

Rail workers have today signed a historic document with KiwiRail which brings all landbased workers together in a single collective employment agreement.

“In 2002 rail workers’ employment was outsourced to several different companies by a desperate for money Tranz Rail. Today is an exciting day for the more than 3,600 workers who are now finally back on the same core terms and conditions within the same Collective Agreement,” said Wayne Butson, General Secretary of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union.

Wayne Butson said that a ‘best of the best’ methodology was used to combine the four collective employment agreements, which meant that the highest rate for any particular group of worker in any of the previous agreements formed the new rate for that job within the business.

“A minimum increase of 2 per cent was negotiated for all workers, with some workers getting up to 5.8%.”

“Rail is an essential industry for New Zealand, and as oil prices increase overtime rail’s contribution to the national transport supply chain will become increasingly important.”

“Well trained and well paid rail workers are the cornerstone of this, and we are celebrating today’s agreement which unites the rail workforce,” Wayne Butson said.

Ends.

© Scoop Media