Line engineers strike action continues

Telecommunications engineers in Northland are striking for a second day today as the Australian company at the centre of the industrial dispute hits back at union claims.

Up to 1000 engineers around the country staged a one-day strike yesterday as part of their continued industrial action.

About 100 Northland engineers remained on strike today and a stop work meeting will be held in Auckland on Friday, which could lead to further industrial action over the weekend.

The engineers want their current employer, Telecom's network division Chorus, to abandon a contract agreement with Australian company Visionstream.

Under Visionstream, engineers would become owner/operators, providing their own equipment and transportation, which the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) says would leave many staff jobless and put the future of New Zealand's telecommunications network at risk.

But Visionstream said claims its owner/operator model could see engineers' incomes halved were "highly misleading".

The company's New Zealand manager Andrew Stevens said its owner operator rates were calculated so that field staff maintaining an output in line with the current industry average could expect to maintain a similar level of income.

Those with good productivity levels could achieve a significantly higher income, he said.

Mr Stevens said it was difficult to make a general statement regarding income levels as each owner operator effectively decided where, when, and how they worked.

"The figures bandied about by the union give a totally false impression of what the average owner operator is likely to earn.

"The owner operator model provides workers with an excellent opportunity to use their skills to build a profitable and successful business, and ensures a high standard of service for our customers and for consumers."

Mr Stevens said that as part of its 10-year contract with Chorus in Auckland and Northland, Visionstream was offering owner operators training and back-office support, as well as a contribution towards tools, equipment and insurance costs, and access to an interest-free loan.

Telecom says it is committed to the changes to the contracts.

EPMU national telecommunications organiser Joe Gallagher said Telecom might be committed to the contract but there was scope within that to meet everyone's needs. Visionstream was offering contracts to the engineers but was employing managers on salaries.

The union was also investigating contracts offered to overseas engineers which it believed did not fit Immigration New Zealand criteria.

Mr Gallagher said about 300 or 400 engineers from the Philippines and South Africa were being offered fixed-term contracts but the term was so loosely defined the union did not believe it guaranteed them permanent residency.

The situation was a "disgrace", he said.

NZPA