NZTA urged to improve funding

E tū has written to Mark Ratcliffe, the chief executive of the NZTA, urging the agency to improve funding for Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ) so its workers can be fairly paid.

VTNZ driving test and vehicle testing officials took strike action on August 5 for 24 hours in protest over their pay.

The driving test officials earn between $21.00 and $22.50, which members say doesn’t reflect their skills and experience, nor on the job hazards. Vehicle testing officials also earn below the industry standard.

E tū lead organiser, Dayna Townsend says driving test officials have been trying to improve their basic pay scale since 2014 when NZTA awarded the driver testing contract to VTNZ.

Before then, Townsend says the AA had the contract "and the starting rate for driving testers was higher than the highest paid rate for them now. As well as the higher pay, they had allowances which also boosted their pay."

"Vehicle testers are also at the bottom of the mechanics scale.

"NZTA funding for VTNZ is too low to ensure these workers are fairly paid.

"This is a huge problem for our members wherever services are contracted out to private companies. Typically, government agencies chose the lowest tender and it is workers who pay the price for that, through low pay."

Dayna says the agency has been asked to increase the funding for VTNZ so it can lift pay rates to a more realistic level.

"These are government workers, doing the government’s job of keeping people safe on the roads. They should be fairly paid and that means paying contractors enough to ensure that happens," she says.