Company denies unfair treatment claims
An Auckland company that employs many migrant workers has denied claims that it is treating its workers unfairly.
Earlier this week, E tu union claimed that Sistema was exploiting its workers by making them work for more than 60 hours every week. But Sistema said that all reports of the company exploiting its workers were false.
Sistema’s chief operating manager Drew Muirhead says that E tu union is using “bully tactics”.
“We are extremely disappointed and frustrated at the false and outlandish statements made by the union,” the statement reads. “Only 26 out of our [more than] 700 employees are members of the union. Two hundred and sixty-six are on the legal minimum wage and 175 of those have been here less than two years.”
The statement said the company maintains a “great relationship” with its employees. “Many...have been with us for [more than] 10 years, and in fact, we have a waiting list of people who want to work here.”
However, E tu union stands by its claim.
“This is simply not the case, given the pay and conditions and also the attitude of management, which former workers have described as ‘dictatorial’. They speak of a climate of fear, which prevents people speaking out about the poor pay and conditions,” says Sunny Sehgal, E tu union’s organiser.
The union came to know about the exploitation claims in 2014 and since then has been trying to improve the working conditions of the employees. “Sistema will not budge on better wages and shorter hours. This has been a consistent pattern,” says Sehgal.
He said workers were required to be on their feet for 12 hours a day, five days a week and often more and so fatigue was a major concern. “Many use painkillers to get through the day.”
Sehgal said the union might resort to legal action if the company did not agree to improve working conditions.
“We have legal avenues to explore, especially with regards to the health and safety issues.
“There are robust laws related to workplace safety, and while the company has been advised in the past about ways to alleviate the plight of these workers, that advice has been ignored. We are prepared to pursue the matter. Whatever happens, the union members at Sistema will continue to fight for respect and fairness at work.”
Harry Singh, a former full-time employee at Sistema said: “Sistema works in contrast to the employee rights set by the New Zealand government. They can fire anyone without warning.” He added that said the company gave employer-convenient contracts to the workers.
Harry Singh, who worked at Sistema for more than three-and-a-half years, said he recently quit his job because he was tired of the company’s working conditions.
As part of his job, Harry Singh was required to lift 25kg bags on top of machines that were three-and-a-half to four feet high. “Sometimes we didn’t have lifts and had to carry bags manually,” says Harry Singh. “We had to do everything we could to ensure that the machines did not stop working, because if it did, the manager would yell at us.”
Mandheer Singh, another former employee, said: “The work was hard. I used to get a body ache every day; the worst was the back pain from exhaustion. My body used to be sore at the end of a shift, and it was difficult to get a good sleep. No one from the management ever considered any of these issues.”
Mandheer Singh, who worked night shifts, asked for a pay rise but didn’t receive any.
He worked at Sistema for a couple of months before he started applying for other jobs with better work conditions and wages, but says, there was not much choice. “The day I got my residency, I applied for my current job at NZ Bus and was lucky to get it straight away.”
The problems of the employees do not stop at working extra hours. Harry Singh says that during company shut downs for stock-taking, employees were asked to sign a form saying that they agreed to their holiday pay to be deducted. “It was completely unfair,” says Harry Singh.
“The company should pay for such shut downs and not deduct it from an employee’s annual leave. But employees had no choice. They couldn’t say no.”
A recent development in union negotiations with the company came when Sistema made a direct offer to workers of a 40-hour week.
Sehgal says that although a few members agreed, “most workers haven’t because they can’t afford to; the pay is too low”.
An Auckland company that employs many migrant workers has denied claims that it is treating its workers unfairly.
Earlier this week, E tu union claimed that Sistema was exploiting its workers by making them work for more than 60 hours every week. But Sistema said that all reports of the company...
An Auckland company that employs many migrant workers has denied claims that it is treating its workers unfairly.
Earlier this week, E tu union claimed that Sistema was exploiting its workers by making them work for more than 60 hours every week. But Sistema said that all reports of the company exploiting its workers were false.
Sistema’s chief operating manager Drew Muirhead says that E tu union is using “bully tactics”.
“We are extremely disappointed and frustrated at the false and outlandish statements made by the union,” the statement reads. “Only 26 out of our [more than] 700 employees are members of the union. Two hundred and sixty-six are on the legal minimum wage and 175 of those have been here less than two years.”
The statement said the company maintains a “great relationship” with its employees. “Many...have been with us for [more than] 10 years, and in fact, we have a waiting list of people who want to work here.”
However, E tu union stands by its claim.
“This is simply not the case, given the pay and conditions and also the attitude of management, which former workers have described as ‘dictatorial’. They speak of a climate of fear, which prevents people speaking out about the poor pay and conditions,” says Sunny Sehgal, E tu union’s organiser.
The union came to know about the exploitation claims in 2014 and since then has been trying to improve the working conditions of the employees. “Sistema will not budge on better wages and shorter hours. This has been a consistent pattern,” says Sehgal.
He said workers were required to be on their feet for 12 hours a day, five days a week and often more and so fatigue was a major concern. “Many use painkillers to get through the day.”
Sehgal said the union might resort to legal action if the company did not agree to improve working conditions.
“We have legal avenues to explore, especially with regards to the health and safety issues.
“There are robust laws related to workplace safety, and while the company has been advised in the past about ways to alleviate the plight of these workers, that advice has been ignored. We are prepared to pursue the matter. Whatever happens, the union members at Sistema will continue to fight for respect and fairness at work.”
Harry Singh, a former full-time employee at Sistema said: “Sistema works in contrast to the employee rights set by the New Zealand government. They can fire anyone without warning.” He added that said the company gave employer-convenient contracts to the workers.
Harry Singh, who worked at Sistema for more than three-and-a-half years, said he recently quit his job because he was tired of the company’s working conditions.
As part of his job, Harry Singh was required to lift 25kg bags on top of machines that were three-and-a-half to four feet high. “Sometimes we didn’t have lifts and had to carry bags manually,” says Harry Singh. “We had to do everything we could to ensure that the machines did not stop working, because if it did, the manager would yell at us.”
Mandheer Singh, another former employee, said: “The work was hard. I used to get a body ache every day; the worst was the back pain from exhaustion. My body used to be sore at the end of a shift, and it was difficult to get a good sleep. No one from the management ever considered any of these issues.”
Mandheer Singh, who worked night shifts, asked for a pay rise but didn’t receive any.
He worked at Sistema for a couple of months before he started applying for other jobs with better work conditions and wages, but says, there was not much choice. “The day I got my residency, I applied for my current job at NZ Bus and was lucky to get it straight away.”
The problems of the employees do not stop at working extra hours. Harry Singh says that during company shut downs for stock-taking, employees were asked to sign a form saying that they agreed to their holiday pay to be deducted. “It was completely unfair,” says Harry Singh.
“The company should pay for such shut downs and not deduct it from an employee’s annual leave. But employees had no choice. They couldn’t say no.”
A recent development in union negotiations with the company came when Sistema made a direct offer to workers of a 40-hour week.
Sehgal says that although a few members agreed, “most workers haven’t because they can’t afford to; the pay is too low”.
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