Mall strike a first for New Zealand

As part of an ongoing pay dispute staff members picketed electronics retailer JB HiFi's store in Westfield's Albany Mall in Auckland yesterday, the first time in New Zealand that a picket has taken place inside a mall. "Mall workers have the right to join a union and a right to take strike action. We believe that under the Employment Relations Act they also have the right to picket their place of work." said Joe Carolan, the campaigns officer for Unite which represents the workers.

mall picket X13rn 17844

Workers at JB Hifi haven't had a pay rise in 3 years, meaning that they earn a mere 75c more than the minimum wage. The other part of the story is that the company is making massive profits and CEO Richard Euchtritz is more than adequately remunerated. Profit for the company was up 29% this year to an estimated NZ$140 million. Euchtritz, who dismissed the workers pay claim of a 50c raise as "Absurd", took home a $1 million bonus, bringing his net pay to $4 million. The NZ workers pay claim amounts to just under $200,000 per year. Union member Jack Lucas was quoted in a press release as saying;

Our manager told me that I would never get a pay rise if I stayed with the Collective. There was a lot of pressure put on me to resign. Now they've cut down on the areas I used to sell on in our store. It's unfair- I'm rejoining the union and striking to stand up for my rights

The picketers were kept within the confines of the JB HiFi store and were not allowed in the common area of the mall by Westfield. "It's private property and we invite shoppers in," Westfield public relations officer Deb McGhie told the New Zealand Herald. Her comment is telling, a mall is like a privatised town, a pseudo-public space where certain activities (ie, shopping) are tolerated but others are more tightly controlled. As workers in shopping malls stand up for their rights this could be challenged again in the future.