Your message: Wow am I please to find this!

I work for an 0900 number in New Zealand. We are exploited in SOME ways.

This is a full time job for me at the moment or close to it. None of us had ANY training. Our boss has said she will get us together to meet each other but she Never does. She called us in for one very belittling meeting in which she emphasised that we are all easily expendable as so many people would like our jobs.

She said that we should remember that if we go on holiday at any time we may be replaced permanently. She said that if we did not complete and get our admin tasks in on time we would not be paid for the phone work we did for that whole two weeks. I doubt the legality of that. She keeps saying that if I work hard and do my job well I might be promoted out of being just a contract phone "girl" (as we are called) but my husband thinks that's just a carrot to keep me quiet and working hard.

I have been working at this job for 6months. I work for a 0900 number you know "This call costs $2.95 per minute + gst. Kids ask your parents first etc" I work from home. Is this considered call centre work? The line is for lonely men wanting to speak to women. It is not a sex line although some men want this. It is a chat line. I am employed to entertain and keep people chatting. I know you may disapprove of this but I have a disability and this is a good job for me.

We are told so little about our job. Never told what to do but to talk to the customers. I think I know why that is. Phone sex is not permitted by telecom New Zealand but that is what the majority of customers want, so it is up to us to decide to do it or not but since we must make 15 minutes per hours talk to get out higher rate. (the lower rate is only $5 an hour) well.... you get the idea. Please don't hate me for doing this job, it's just talk you know?

In this edition -

Ellen Dannin writes on the need for a union of isolated workers