Telecom lines engineers have been put in a rock and a hard place situation. They’re facing a no-win choice between trading their employment for an unstable dependent contracting arrangement or no job. They’ve been given notice of redundancy, but there’s no redundancy compensation. It’s take it or lose everything.
The workers are fighting back with a national strike tomorrow, while North Shore line engineers have already been on strike for five days. We will see more of this if these workers give in, just like the waves of contracting out we saw under the last National government.
For the sake of keeping highly skilled workers in the industry and for the sake of quality service to all telecoms customers, we need to be on their side.
I am.
Some people don’t use their real name because they feel they can debate more freely if they’re not identified. It also makes it less personal and more about the issues.
In some ways it’s kind of a throwback to the old days of the internet but I understand people’s reasons. There’s no way I’d give out my surname here – I’m a public servant!
fair enough.
Perhaps you can rattle the cage up there and ask some one who can really help to pay attention to our plight. we really need help here.We are sacrificing days without pay in order to be heard and assisted by the very people we support thru our work in rainy muddy cold days sunday to sunday for those on faults. Striking so far for 3.5 days for some and 1week 3 days for others. This is not an easy thing to do but because of its importance, a necessary one or we WILL lose for the rest of our working lives in this industry.If the company Telecom /visionstream we are battling with had a fair approach to our employment we would not be in this situation, but they remain adamant in the face of factual proof of the non viability of the owner operator model that their offer is a fair one.This stalemate will carry on for weeks and months if necessary or until everyone of us has eventually found alternative employment in the interim and just walked away. We will never return to this industry again if we get no support in this instance. Thats 950 telco engineers with 15-35 yrs experience gone for ever.
What is that worth to NZ do you think?
sincerely yours
Michael
Basic HTML, the page here has a few of the most common tags but do be aware that not all blogs allow all HTML tags.
As for the real name… Which is more real? The name I was given or the name I chose myself? Several hundred people around the world know me by this name. No, it’s not the name on my bank account or the electoral role but that has more to do with identity theft than anything else.
Personally, I think it’s worth a hell of a lot but NZ as a whole seems to have become cheap over the last couple of decades.
i went down to the whangarei picket line to lend a couple of hours support this morning as a member of the public and i talked with a few old mates and asked each what they were going to do and the answer was thats it no more,early retirement.not interested in the debt and the way telecom has treated them.these are guys with around forty years of experience,guys who very rarely strike,mild mannered guys and now they have had enough.a lot are unable to borrow and none want to borrow anyway so where does it leave them.the rock and the hard place.they just arent interested in the deal fullstop.and those who think that its union run,the decisions to strike and take industrial action is coming direct from the guys with out union input.the union is there with a representative but she doesnt take part in the decisions ,but acts as liason etc.no labour party people where there making decisions so its not labour party led.and the other thing to those business people getting worried,the guys only want to roll over the current conditions,tho i would say that its getting more expensive to hire lineman by the day.also a lot of people were tooting support,and two ladies walked a long way to say they supported the guys.any one got a cheap alternator for a 1993 toyota sprinter diesel vacumm pump at rear.thanks.i know its not trade me but theres a recession on .and i got made redundant.so taking an objective look at todays protest i would start selling telecom shares and start buying vodafone .
Got this off the NBR site today posted by australian subby (owner operator)
(This is what we are fighting against.)
sub contracting
Don,t sign.
I have been contracting for 10 years after working for Telstra for 29 years,when I first started contracting I made really good money,now the wage my one man company pays me after expenses is half of what I earned 10 years ago.
Any variations that are time consuming and require materials will be taken off you as the contract is modified./ammended.
Examples are ,we used to get paid $120.00 for a basic install,an extra $38.00 if we had to put a lead in cable into the auxilliary port of a HSOJ (heat shrink openable joint) ,$22.00 if we had to use a utilux grease filled enclosure,$4.00 per metre to supply,haul/rod and rope extra 2 pair lead in cable over 20 metres to the house,an install using a drop wire aerial lead in cable had a payment to us of $155.00 plus the other payments if they were required.
Some times we could only claim the basic payment code but the others where there for jobs that required more materials/labour.
The contracting life was good until a mongrel of a company undercut all the other companies when the tender came up for a new contract with Telstra.This company was called Comet Satellite and Cable, they changed their name to B.S.A.(Broadcast Services Australia) some years back.The rate payed to us for an install then dropped to $80.00 with most additional payment codes gone.
It has been down hill since then,the rates we are paid are pathetic
many are leaving the industry,others stay because they feel trapped.
The KPI fines are another issue,even if a service goes faulty within a week of you working on it we are fined $140.00,so for an” in place service” that we are payed $44.00 for ,we can be fined $140.00.
I don,t now if this would be the case in NZ but all these companies are the same.
payments for fault repairs also dropped,once we could claim the primary fault AND additional faults,$70.00 for the main fault and $30.00 for extra faults,we could claim replacing the lead in cable,and claim for digging down to repair broken/blocked lead in conduit,also claim for replacing faulty 1st outlet,we also could claim replacing cable from the madison or luca box on the outside wall to the 1st outlet.For a fault we are now payed $70.00 and no more,it doesn,t matter how much work is reqd.
Insurance is another concern,you have to have a 3rd party public liability insurance policy ,10 or 20 million dollars.
This is in case you accidentally hurt someone or damage property while working as a contractor,if you are a pty ltd company you have some protection against a person taking you to court to sue for damages.I have been told that if you and your wife both own a house your half could be at risk if you were taken to court.You would have to ask a solicitor for advice on this.
As you can see there is a lot of risk here for very low payments.
If you stand firm with your union you have good chance of decent wages and conditions or the union may be able to collectively bargain for better rates if you think contracting is an option.
Here in Australia we have hit rock bottom as far as subcontracting goes,I do not know if it will ever recover,have a look at our subcontractors association web site ,TSCA it is part of the CEPU.
regards from the ozzie mozzie
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Posted by aussie subbie (not verified) at 12:27 am on August 11, 2009
Good post on this issues at The Standard
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/big-issues-in-telecom-lines-strike/
This just in from australia:
Ref: SLD 09/329
6 August 2009
Dear NZ Comrades,
The Victorian Branch of the TSCA has been inundated with emails from
NZ in relation to the transfer from being paid employees to being
subcontractors. It’s impossible to answer them individually, so we’ll give
a broad overview of how the same situation in Australia has affected
subcontractors.
At the outset, the proposal to be ’self-employed’ can look quite attractive,
and some people like the idea of running their own business. However,
the situation for most is not that good and once people are committed
financially for a van, tools etc, it’s difficult to get out.
The contracts entered into are completely one-sided and subbies are
entirely at the mercy of the prime contractor. Contracts are usually able
to be changed with minimum notice and never in the interest of the
subby. Rates are always being changed with some subbies complaining
that they were earning more 5 years ago than they are now. Hours of
work are changed regularly, the distribution of work is haphazard with
some subbies running from one end of Melbourne to the other – and back
again – to do jobs.
In Queensland, some subbies are now expected to work 3 out of 4
Saturdays and 2 out of 4 Sunday a month with the threat that if they don’t
do it they will be finished up. There is also the issue of fines for reworks
etc. These are completely in the control of the prime contractor and some
subbies have been fined with little or no opportunity for them to defend
themselves.
Subbies in Melbourne and Queensland recently stayed off the job for a
few days to have the situation addressed. Until then, management just
ignored the complaints for month after month until they got a reaction
from the subbies. Melbourne subbies had a victory, but only because they
stuck together, and that’s what NZ workers will have to do, and sooner
rather than later.
Training is non -existent for Subbies and, if anyone wants to do a course,
it’s usually at your own expense.
Part of the problem is that prime contractors tender for the work in the
first place and then have to compete with other companies down the track
for the ongoing work. They compete with each other on price and it’s
usually a race to the bottom, and always at your expense. Every time a
prime contractor loses out, the subbies are offered work with the
successful tender. They are promised that ‘nothing will change, rates will
stay the same etc’, but it never does.
It’s not a good situation for anyone to find themselves in – full-time job disappearing, and the
need to continue to earn a living – with limited choice of employer.
Ideally, no one should sign a contract on an individual basis. We all know that we are at our
strongest when we act collectively – and that’s what needs to happen in this case.
The chance to have any real input to the contracts is NOW! The chance won’t come around
again once you are acting independent of each other, and they play you one out.
The best option is to join/maintain membership of the EPMU and present a united workforce
to Vision Stream who are not known as being union friendly.
It’s not a good news story, I’m afraid. Subbies in Australia have been belted left, right and
centre over the years and the same will probably happen in NZ if the effort is not put in at
this early stage.
We wish you well and hope that your experience is better than here in Australia.
Yours in solidarity
Enquiries:
LEN COOPER JIM REID
TSCA M. 0425 772 753
Email: jimmy.reid7@gmail.com
TSCA
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
INDUSTRY
SUB CONTRACTORS’
ASSOCIATION LTD
1/139 Queensberry Street
Carlton South 3053
Ph. 03 9349 4411
Fax: 03 9349 3488
Thanks for comments, especially to Michael, other Telco workers and partners. I’ve been on the Labour bus, so apologies for late reply, but I have kept up with your actions and repeat I am on your side. I’ve been on long strikes, so I know how hard it is on your family. I’ve also owned my own small business and been a large employer, so I do know both sides of the argument. Just one word to David : yes, it’s not right what happens to couriers and I did try to do something about it last year – and if you read Labour policy you will see the issue of dependent contracting was a work in progress. But I don’t agree that just because it’s wrong for you it should be wrong for others as well.
Bad position to be in, horrible compromise. No job vs an unstable job are very similar anyway. They might want to start looking for other similar industries that could use their skills.
Thanks for your support Darien. can government assist us or are we wasting our time posting here and hoping for their intervention?
Please send your contact email to michael.kerikeri@gmail.com and I shall contact you direct. alternatively ask Clare for my direct email address or ph number .Looking forward to hearing from you.
sincerely yours
michael