Under-fire Chorus to hire 250 workers
Chorus will attempt to recruit an additional 250 workers after acknowledging it was taking too long to fix faults with its copper network.
An Auckland appliance repair business said on Thursday that it had been forced to consider shutting up shop after a five week landline and broadband outage, prompting an admission by Chorus that it had ‘‘stuffed up’’.
The issue was one of a number that had been reported in Auckland. Spark said at the start of the month that its customers were facing unacceptable delays getting network faults fixed.
Chorus said it, and its contractors, were aiming to recruit the 250 extra technicians and support staff by the end of the year.
The company acknowledged the link between the new hires and recent complaints, saying its jobs announcement came as it ‘‘apologises to customers who have been waiting too long for faults on its copper network to be repaired’’.
Chorus had made improvement in this area its immediate priority, it said in a statement.
It said the average time to fix a fault had increased to more than 60 hours, with some customers waiting considerably longer.
‘‘We have had an unfortunate set of circumstances, including very wet weather and several major cable cuts by third parties, which has meant we’ve been playing catch up for the last couple of weeks,’’ general manager of infrastructure Ed Beattie said.
‘‘It’s not good enough and I apologise to customers who are frustrated waiting for a fix,’’ he said.
Despite running ‘‘extensive training programmes’’, Chorus was finding the labour pool too small to meet its needs, he warned.
‘‘We are competing with the Christchurch rebuild, the Auckland housing demands and the National Broadband Network build in Australia for skilled technicians.
‘‘We have scoured New Zealand for potential technicians, and also brought in technicians from around the world to help meet the demand, but it’s still not enough. It’s not a matter of budgets or willingness,’’ he said.