KEY POINTS:
About 300 Television New Zealand workers walked off the job this morning, forcing the Good Morning programme off air.
Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) organiser Rachel Mackintosh said this was the 16th action by workers since October 29 and involved largest number of workers.
For the first time workers at the Avalon studio in Wellington joined the industrial action. Good Morning is produced at Avalon.
The workers on strike are covered by both the EPMU and the Public Service Association (PSA) and want a 5 per cent pay rise, and an additional week of leave. They say TVNZ has only offered a 2.25 per cent pay increase and no extra annual leave.
TVNZ spokesman Robin Field said the union was misleading people because the 2.25 per cent was an across the board offer and incentive payments based on performance meant most staff would get closer to 5 per cent.
The company and workers were in mediation yesterday.
Ms Mackintosh said union members were showing their disappointment at the crown-owned company's failure to provide a decent offer.
"We went to mediation with the intention of resolving this dispute. Our members don't like taking industrial action but they can't just stand by and let TVNZ ride roughshod over their pay and conditions."
Ms Mackintosh said mediation was a necessary step before taking legal action against the company around good faith bargaining issues.
Ms Mackintosh said yesterday that TVNZ was refusing to recognise the significant ill-will being generated.
"This is the kind of cowboy behaviour you just don't expect from a taxpayer-owned company."
PSA organiser Brenden Sheehan said: "Today's action comes after union attempts at resolving the dispute through the Department of Labour's Mediation Service yesterday failed to deliver a result".
"The union parties presented a number of compromise proposals to TVNZ to try resolve this dispute, it is frustrating that TVNZ will not even consider budging from their original offer despite having the financial ability to do so."
The unions' strategy is to hold lightning actions in which little or no warning is given to the company.
Union organisers have said that TVNZ has been bullying and intimidating workers not to take industrial action and there have been threats to people's jobs and their careers in the industry should they continue with action.
The workers went out at 6.15am this morning and the union would not say how long they were out for, though it was likely to be most of the day.
Staff will be picketing outside Petrocorp House in Wellington from 12.30pm today.
The union said that TVNZ breached the Employment Relations Act by employing strike-breakers during the industrial dispute.
There are about 300 union members located in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. They are presenters, producers, administrators, camera people and involved in technical support and scheduling.
- NZPA
