Scott Automation workers strike

Ninety-five EPMU members at Scott Automation walked off the job on Thursday and Friday in protest against the company’s refusal to offer them a decent increase in their pay and conditions.

Members spent Friday picketing outside the company’s Christchurch and Dunedin sites and plan to follow this action with an overtime ban and a series of spontaneous rolling stoppages.

EPMU Director of Organising Ged O’Connell says members just want recognition for their skills and their long service with the company.

“Scott Automation is at the cutting edge of New Zealand engineering and at a time when they’re making healthy profits there’s no excuse for attacking our members’ conditions or trying to reduce their redundancy entitlements.

“Specialist engineering is the kind of high wage, high skill work that this country needs and if we’re going to make it work then we need to retain those skills and that means paying workers fairly and offering them decent recognition for their experience.

“Our members have stuck with the company and helped them out through some hard times, the least they can expect is to have that loyalty returned.”

The strike action follows five weeks of bargaining and a two hour lightning strike on Monday.