Contact centre workers from supermarket giant Countdown protested for better pay today outside the entrance to the company’s Ponsonby store in Auckland.
Workers outside the store said it’s the third picket this year and the fourth episode of strike action as employees continue to seek a better hourly wage.
First Union organiser Robin Wilson-Whiting told 1 NEWS she believes the majority of contact centre workers at Countdown are on $21.30 an hour. But in other contact centres, she says, workers earn about $23-24 per hour.
“I think Countdown knows it’s been getting a bargain with these wages or a long time and it’s time for it that to end,” Wilson-Whiting said.
“They are making a huge profit and they can afford to pay these workers fairly.”
It comes as Countdown reported a 9.1 per cent increase in sales amid the pandemic crisis this year. Online sales increased by 44.5 per cent and 74.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year.
Justine Brown has worked in the contact centre for just over six years. She says the team spirit she works amongst is what keeps her in the job.
“We’ve got an incredible team environment and that’s significantly improved over the years. And I’m really proud of that and where we can get to now, having such a great [union] membership.
“But it’s going to come to a certain point where you need to be able to support yourself and not just a cause, so they need to step up their game," Brown says.
A spokesperson for Countdown says the company has already attempted a pay increase this week.
“Some of our customer care team in Auckland have taken strike action today following our increased pay offer to the union earlier this week.
“This is obviously disappointing but we respect our team members’ right to do this. It’s a busy time of year for our customers and we are managing this as best we can, however it does unfortunately mean there may be some delays for customers who have questions or changes to their online orders.
“Our focus is always to provide a fair and meaningful pay offer for our team, as well as secure employment, keeping them safe and well at work, and balancing the very real pressure to keep food prices down in an environment of increasing costs.
“We think it’s a fair and appropriate offer for the current uncertain economic climate, and it’s also right for the type of role and responsibilities that our customer care team undertakes. We’ll continue to get around the table in good faith with the union and are hopeful of a good outcome for our team,” the spokesperson said.
Customer care team members were paid a 10 per cent bonus for hours they worked for the initial four-week Alert Level 4 lockdown, the spokesperson said, “which recognised not only the essential service our team provided but also the weeks before lockdown when our business experienced incredibly high levels of demand”.
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