Workers picket building giant’s AGM
Workers protested outside construction giant Fletcher Building’s annual meeting in Auckland yesterday as directors discussed the company’s financial direction.
Quarry workers, truck drivers and distribution centre workers for Fletcher brands Firth Concrete, Laminex, Mico Bathrooms and Winstones Aggregates walked off their work sites on Tuesday over pay negotiations.
About 35 of the workers picketed outside the meeting yesterday morning to make their voices known to those in charge of the company’s books.
As shareholders entered the meeting, protesters shouted ‘‘they are only interested in profit’’.
Workers held signs saying ‘‘Fletcher, the deconstruction company,’’ and ‘‘people before profit’’.
First Union transport organiser Bryce Hamilton said a pay rise of 17 cents an hour would have satisfied the workers.
However, Fletcher Building had failed to meet worker demands for a pay rise of more than 2 per cent.
‘‘The company does have the cashflow to enable these pay rises,’’ Hamilton said.
Protester Steve Mathie, a Firth Concrete truck driver, said his $18 an hour pay packet was not enough for some of his colleagues to feed their families.
Mathie said their pay had not kept up with the cost of living. ‘‘We are all struggling to feed our families, pay our mortgage and rents. All we are asking for is a fair pay.’’
He said he was working 50 to 70 hours a week and wanted at least $22 for each hour he worked.
Hamilton said Fletcher Building was ignoring the cost of living in its pay negotiations.
First Union spokesman Jared Abbott said the workers and union were frustrated at Fletcher’s ‘‘blanket approach to bargaining wage increases’’.
Abbott said each Fletcher brand and work site came with its own challenges, but employees’ pay did not reflect or respect that.
He said quarries were one of the most dangerous places to work.
‘‘All of the sites on strike are safety-sensitive areas.’’
Abbott said site managers consistently said their hands were tied in pay negotiations. ‘‘That is the message we get … that decisions are made at the top.’’
Fletcher Building has been contacted for comment.