Discrimination alleged

Press, 1 May 1981, Page 4

Discrimination alleged

Hotel workers are being denied the right to hire television sets from two Christchurch branches of a national rental firm solely because they are hotel workers and are therefore seen by the branch managers as “unreliable,” according to the secretary of the Canterbury Hotel Workers’ Union, Mr G. D. Harding.

The firm is Transvision Rentals, Ltd, but both the Riccarton branch manager, Mr R. Just, and the Cashel Street branch manager, Mr R. R. Carvell, denied discrimination against hotel workers as a group. The Cashel Street branch hires sets under the name of Amalgamated Tele-Hire. Mr Harding said that Mr Carvell had told him quite categorically that both he and Mr Just did not rent sets to hotel workers. “We are incensed at the arrogant attitude of this Christchurch company, and we pledge total support to any member denied this service,” he said.

Mr Harding said that when he asked why hotel workers were singled out, he was told that they were unreliable, transient, and irresponsible. Mr Harding said that Mr Carvell had agreed that, it was not the policy of the head office of Transvision, but just applied at the Cashel Street ” and Riccarton branches.

“Just because a couple of hotel workers may have had debts there is no justification to judge the rest by it,” said Mr Harding. Mr Harding quoted the example of a hotel worker who had passed the company’s credit agency check, then was told he could not have a set on hire because he was a hotel worker. Mr Just said that rental

television firms nau co uec very careful who they rented 1 sets' to because they had|. "very little comeback” if rental payments were not kept up.

However, he denied that hotel workers were denied television sets. The branches had hotel workers on their files who did have contracts.

Mr Carvell said that generally unemployed people would have difficulty hiring a television set because of the risk of non-payment of rental charges. Others who were considered a risk by the managers included people with criminal convictions, massage parlour workers, some beneficiaries, and people who shifted addresses frequently. A spokesman for a credit agency said he had no way of knowing whether any one group of people was risky for credit purposes. “We get debt collections against people from all; walks of life, including doc-‘ tors, lawyers, and everyone, you can think of.” he said.