Office ‘evacuated’ after threat

Chorus contractor UCG is understood to have sent staff at its Nelson office home earlier this week after alleged threats by a technician who previously worked for a subcontracting company.

UCG public relations consultant Michelle Boag said the company would not comment about what she said was a police matter.

Chorus spokesman Ian Bonnar said it was also ‘‘unable to comment at this stage as we understand UCG referred the matter to the police’’.

A police spokeswoman was not immediately able to identify reports of a complaint being laid in relation to UCG, whose offices are on Vivian Place.

A subcontractor outside Nelson who was not connected to the matter said he had been told threats were made towards UCG management on Monday and an office had been ‘‘evacuated’’.

He assumed the incident was related to conditions in the subcontracting industry and said it was ‘‘no surprise’’.

‘‘People are struggling and taking things to the next level. I did say this was going to happen.’’

Chorus is expected to provide an update next week on the progress it has made improving conditions in the subcontracting industry.

Chief executive Kate McKenzie promised in April to ensure all its subcontractors could earn ‘‘a decent wage’’ after admitting more than 100 firms involved in the roll-out of its ultrafast broadband network might have breached labour laws.

A report Chorus commissioned from financial services firm MartinJenkins last year concluded that Chorus and contractors Visionstream and UCG had failed to sufficiently protect 1600 mostly migrant workers from exploitation by their employers.

E tu¯ union organiser Joe Gallagher said in August that he believed conditions in the industry had got worse, rather than better.