Auckland bin collectors dumped, offered chance to buy their own rubbish trucks
Waste Management has made 23 rubbish truck drivers redundant in Auckland, offering them the option to become independent contractors. The local union has criticized the move as a predatory practice that shifts financial risk and costs onto the workers.
Why it matters
This highlights ongoing labor disputes regarding the 'gigification' of traditional blue-collar roles and the erosion of employee benefits.
Waste Management has made 23 Auckland rubbish truck drivers in South and East Auckland redundant. Photo / Hayden Woodward
Almost two dozen rubbish truck drivers in East and South Auckland have been dumped, with some offered the option to buy their own trucks and become contractors instead.
A restructure at Waste Management – the private company contracted by Auckland Council for kerbside rubbish collection in East and South Auckland – would make 23 drivers redundant in favour of independent contractors.
Workers First Union called the restructure a “predatory scam” and warned that the cost of buying the trucks could put workers in “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of debt.
“Drivers will be individually responsible for maintaining, repairing and upgrading their rubbish truck under the false pretence that they can use it for other business,” union organiser Justin Wallace said.
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