SkyCity Nixes Zero-Hour Jobs

New contract kicks in January 1

SkyCity Casino in Auckland, New Zealand, has done away with zero-hour contracts that, as the term suggests, did not guarantee any weekly working hours to some 800 part-time employees. SkyCity is New Zealand’s largest single-site hospitality employer, with almost 3,500 employees in Auckland, according to the New Zealand Herald. It has agreed to give part-timers and on-call staff members eight, 16, 20 or 32 guaranteed hours a week; they may also choose how much they want to work, the publication reported.

It has also agreed to 2.5 percent raises for all staff in each of the next two years.

“In the past it’s been a much more confrontational relationship between the unions and the casino,” said Unite Union Assistant Secretary Tom Buckley of the agreement. “They genuinely took a constructive approach to us this time around. I think we managed to make a bit of progress.”

Grainne Troute, the casino’s general manager of corporate services, confirmed the new contracts would take effect in January 2016. “While the company has always said it needs flexibility from its employees because of the nature of our business, we also recognize the importance of security of hours to our staff,” she said.

“We look forward to this positive relationship continuing in future years.”