00:00A prolonged power outage closed this Launceston University campus for three days this week.
00:08It displaced campus residents and caused the on-site cafe to move to Newnham.
00:13Obviously there was some small losses initially.
00:19We were able to save a lot of stock being vigilant and getting in there early.
00:26The almost 36 hour long outage was extended by industrial action.
00:31The electrical union has stopped doing some work, including switching the power back on
00:35while it campaigns to be paid in line with mainland workers.
00:39Our members don't want to have to do this.
00:41This is a result of 20 years of wage suppression by the TasNetworks board.
00:47They have led us to this point.
00:48We are offering a good deal that supports and rewards our people better than ever before
00:54while protecting Tasmanians on power prices.
00:58Increasing by 35% is just not affordable, it's not feasible.
01:03Outages have left hundreds of customers without power today, with some facing longer waits.
01:08Union led disruption is delaying getting those people back so we ask for their forbearance
01:14but we must stand firm on this.
01:16A month ago when we said hey, this protected action could end up in outages that see blackouts
01:22in certain regions.
01:23We got laughed off, we got said that we were being ridiculous, that we were exaggerating
01:27and yet here we are.
01:28The union says its members won't back down until they receive pay parity.
01:33The Labor leader put some political pressure on TasNetworks to return to the bargaining
01:38table and end the dispute.
01:41The TasNetworks hasn't dealt in good faith with the workforce and I think they need to.
01:46A fight that shows no sign of ending, with businesses and households caught in the middle.
01:53For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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