ausauto News Article

A word of warning on strike action

Word around the Newcastle/Hunter area is that yet another industrial dispute with the insurance companies is imminent. Yet one of those who were on the front line during the previous donnybrook is calling for calm heads to prevail.

Doris Stranks of Stranks of Stranks Smash Repairs in Maitland, who with her husband Greg, were among the powers behind the formation of the northern repairer's alliance, is calling on repairs not to take strike action at this time.

"If fellow repairers have not realised that having a dispute with insurance companies will not work when the industry is in such a poor state, they should think again," she said.

"No matter how many repairers try to resolve a situation, or work to better the industry, there will always be other repairers that will do the work for the insurer for a cut rate, or do the work during the dispute to make money."

Doris asks other repairers to remember that the amazing thing is that the insurers would not normally use these repairers at any other time because of a variety of issues over the years but during a dispute they become a recommended repairer, then after things settle down they are again tossed on the scrap heap.

"Isn't it funny that these very same repairers now want to fight the insurers, even though they were the ones that caused the previous dispute to fail."

She points out that during a dispute everyone need's to stand united.

"This industry has a perfect reputation for not doing that, and the insurance companies know it. They know who to use under the table and how to pay incentives to keep getting work done.

"In the 2005 dispute there were many good men who stood up and fought for our industry and nearly lost all, their home, businesses and health.

"That dispute was defeated because of a few," she said.

Doris concedes that real time-real money and a code of conduct arose out of the dispute, but doubts the value of either.

"Only IAG uses real time-real money and as for the code of conduct, the majority of repairers have not even read it and don't give a you know what about it.

"When I travel around and ask who has read the code most the repairers say who's got the time."

Doris believes that there is one word that sums up the collision repair industry and that is apathy and until repairers learn to work together, liase with each other and work smarter, the insurance companies will just sit back and smile each time they hear there's going to be a dispute.

"Then they reach into the top draw and dust off the list of repairers who will do the work and away we go again.

"A lot of good men including the likes of Greg Coli, Graham Moore, James McCall, Richard Nathan, John Jackson, Greg Stranks, Hussey, and all the others, have worked so hard and given up so much for this industry, yet less than five years later here we are again, right back where we started, only this time its not the right time to get into a fight.

"But then I wonder when is and for the first time really have to say: God help the repair industry because it certainly can't help itself."