Synovate call centre workers in NZ ‘on hunger strike'

NEW ZEALAND-- Workers at a Synovate call centre in east Auckland went on a 24-hour hunger strike earlier today in a bid to win higher rates of pay.

The Unite union said more than 20 of its members would refuse to eat for a day, beginning at 4pm, in protest at current hourly rates which, the union says, “are as low as $12.50”.

“[This is] significantly less than the $21.72 an hour that Synovate researchers earn in Australia as a result of their strong union-won agreement,” the union said in a statement.

Unite wants Synovate New Zealand to up full-timers' pay to $17 an hour, or $15 an hour for part-timers. They also want members to be paid for shifts that are cancelled at short notice, five minutes break for each hour worked and guaranteed hours for long-serving employees.

Maria Evaroa, a Synovate call centre worker and union delegate, said: “The company seems to want to keep delaying raising our wages. Management has been telling us constantly that we should be tightening our belts. So we decided to take them at their word.”

Synovate has disputed the number of employees on hunger strike – giving the figure of “approximately 15” out of a total of 110 staff. The agency said all employees are paid more than the minimum wage as stipulated by New Zealand law and that they are provided with break times during hours worked. The company said hours of work are dependent on the volume of work booked by clients, “and interviewers are aware of this when employed”.

Chief operating officer Robert Philpott said: “It is regrettable that during a global downturn, when companies worldwide are doing their best to win business and preserve much-needed jobs, a few individuals are using the recession to negotiate for higher wages.”

The hunger strike follows four months of negotiations between Synovate and Unite, which has also been in talks with other research agencies – including UMR, Market Pulse, Phoenix Research, DigiPoll and Colmar Brunton – as part of a campaign to improve conditions for call centre workers in the country.

In December it led a walkout at an Auckland facility owned by Surveytalk.

At the time, Surveytalk said the low cost of operating in New Zealand has given the country a competitive edge in providing call centre work, but warned that if it loses this advantage, “clients will migrate to the Philippines or India where other large multinational research companies operate CATI sites already”.

Synovate said today it remains “committed” to continuing negotiations with the union “in good faith”.

Author: Brian Tarran