Around 1000 Telecom engineers are again striking around the country today against the company's new contract arrangements.
The one-day strike is an attempt to get Telecom's network division Chorus to abandon a contract agreement with Australian company Visionstream.
The Visionstream arrangement involved introducing an owner/operator model and required engineers to go through the costly process of setting themselves up as self-employed contractors.
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) said Visionstream was trying to force workers into contracting arrangements which would cost them a large part of their income and leave them without employment rights.
The strike action coincides with the first redundancies resulting from the model and follows numerous strikes and work-bans.
Up to 1000 engineers from Whangarei to Christchurch were striking, the EPMU said.
"This dispute isn't just about our members' employment but about an industry that has been run-down and squeezed for profit until it is dry," EPMU national telecommunications organiser Joe Gallagher said.
Chorus communications manager Brett Jackson said Telecom was committed to the changes to the contracts. He apologised for any service disruptions resulting from the strike.
"These changes are necessary for us to make good on our promise to deliver a world-class network that can support ever-faster and better telecommunications services for New Zealanders," he said.
