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NZCTU urges political parties to vote down extreme anti-worker bill

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh is calling on political parties to vote down Brooke van Velden’s Employment Relations (Pay Deductions for Partial Strikes) Amendment Bill, as it would undermine the ability of workers to engage in industrial action and may even lead to workers losing pay for simply doing the job they were employed to do.

“Enabling pay deductions for partial strike action is bad lawmaking and will have the opposite effect of what the Minister is claiming to achieve through this law change,” said Mackintosh.

“Allowing employers to deduct wages for partial strikes allows for the intimidation of workers and may mean that partial strike action will be abandoned, forcing workers to fully withdraw labour, which will escalate disputes.

“Industrial action is supposed to help level the power imbalances in employment relationships that favour employers. This change undermines that and tips the balance of power even further in favour of employers by introducing a punitive response to legitimate industrial action.

“It is absurd that the Minister considers that work-to-rule is a form of partial strike. Work-to-rule just means following the letter of your employment agreement, for example choosing not to change a scheduled shift or complete a task that is outside the scope of your role.

“What this will mean is that a worker could be punished financially for simply doing the job they were employed to do, and not even engaging in strike action.

“The Bill currently before the House is in contradiction with our international commitments to provide workers the right to organise and collectively bargain, and to provide adequate protection to workers against acts of anti-union discrimination in employment.

“We believe that the Government should be proactively enabling and engaging in upcoming public service collective bargaining rather than creating loopholes and escapes to undermine the country’s employment relations framework.

“The only winners of this Bill will be the lawyers. This legislation will lead to increased litigation, and prolonging bargaining and industrial action at the expense of both workers and employers.

“Christopher Luxon is once again allowing the ACT party to advance its extreme anti-worker agenda in this latest round of brazen attacks on the rights of working people,” said Mackintosh.

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A fresh look at steam power (PPF)

Source: Plant and Food New Zealand – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: A fresh look at steam power (PPF)

People | Planet | Food – in this episode, host Roger Robson-Williams delves into the innovative world of modern steam power with Jack Donaldson from Mackwell and Co., a Christchurch-based start-up pioneering advanced steam technology for farm machinery. Together, they explore how replacing diesel with biomass could revolutionise energy use in food production, offering a sustainable and resilient alternative. The conversation spans the future of energy for businesses and communities, the surprising potential of steam engines in enhancing energy sovereignty, and the importance of equipping future generations with the tools and skills to thrive in a changing world. Don’t miss this inspiring discussion about rethinking power in the food system. To view our full catalogue of podcasts go to our Scigest page: www.plantandfood.com/scigest

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Lockout of disability workers before Christmas unacceptable

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh is condemning the actions of disability support provider Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau Trust in deciding to respond to legitimate strike action by locking out their workers with just a few weeks before Christmas.

“The actions of Te Roopu Taurima are totally unacceptable and represent a flagrant attack on the rights and conditions of their workers,” said Mackintosh.

“These workers are striking over their basic right to secure jobs and a liveable income, resisting their employer’s attempts to restrict secondary employment and introduce discriminatory 90-day trials.

“Locking out low-paid disability workers before Christmas is shameful. Workers who support the disabled in our communities should be valued and celebrated, not bullied, and coerced to accept an unjust deal.

“Lockouts are an extreme and irresponsible course of action and are never an acceptable way of resolving employment disputes. In this case the lockout was also called illegally as the employer didn’t give 14 days’ notice or outline their negotiating demands.

“It seems that Christopher Luxon’s government has emboldened employers to follow their lead and treat workers badly,” said Mackintosh.

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Marsden Fund changes will undermine prosperity and social cohesion

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The Government’s rewrite of the Marsden Fund’s investment plan and terms of reference demonstrates a complete lack of understanding and risks undermining the breadth of research that is essential for the wellbeing and prosperity of New Zealanders, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh.

“Humanities and social science research, which has been defunded by the Government, provides fundamental insights into how our society and culture works and how we can overcome the key challenges we face, from climate change to housing to inequality,” said Mackintosh.

“The narrow focus on funding hard science research, on the basis that this will improve economic performance, shows how misinformed this Government is. Social science research provides critical insights in fields like public health, housing, education, and urban planning and infrastructure – which are all fundamental drivers of economic outcomes.

“Humanities research helps us uncover where we have come from as a society, the stories we tell ourselves, and our place in the wider world. It shows us how the many identities that make up this country can live together with empathy, understanding, and social cohesion – which are more crucial than ever in an increasingly divided world.

“This Government simply doesn’t understand what it is doing, nor how harmful its decisions will be for the future prosperity and social cohesion of Aotearoa New Zealand,” said Mackintosh.

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Government’s personal grievance changes will empower bad employers

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh is saying that the Government’s proposal to further weight the scales in favour of employers in personal grievance cases will make workplace culture worse and harm efforts to create a fair playing field for workers.

“Making the personal grievance regime even tougher for workers will empower bad employers to think they can get away with mistreating their employees,” said Mackintosh.

“These changes exacerbate power imbalances between employers and workers and will encourage employers to not take workplace complaints and accusations of misconduct seriously.

“The personal grievance process is already a tough regime for workers and under the current law, many workers lose their cases, and many workers have their remedies reduced, sometimes by significant amounts.

“What the Government seems to be saying is that if a worker has been found to have contributed to the problem in any way, then they should not receive any financial remedy. They are trying to tie the courts hands and prevent them from establishing justice.

“This is the latest in a sustained series of attacks on workers rights from Christopher Luxon’s Government, who seem intent on making life harder for working people.

“The Prime Minister and his cabinet continue to demonstrate that they are governing only for employers and couldn’t care less about the people who get up every day and go to work to keep this country running,” said Mackintosh.

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NZCTU Rūnanga calling for submissions on proposed changes to NZ Post

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The CTU Rūnanga is asking affiliates to support postal workers and get out and make submissions against contracting out postal delivery, to stop job cuts and ensure fair pay and conditions for postal workers.

The Postal Workers Union is fighting NZ Post’s plans to replace postal workers with contracted couriers. The union believes that this move will lead to slower deliveries and poorer working conditions for the couriers, who are used as a “third-class workforce”.

The union has highlighted that the shift to contractors would mean there would be no posties employed by NZ Post after the planned job cuts. It contends that this violates the State-Owned Enterprises Act, which requires NZ Post to provide good and fair working conditions, instead leaving contractors to determine workers’ pay and conditions.

About the consultation

The Crown is seeking feedback on proposed changes to NZ Post’s minimum obligations under the Postal Deed of Understanding.

The Postal Deed of Understanding (the Deed) is an agreement between NZ Post and the Crown which sets out the minimum mail service obligations that NZ Post must meet to provide a nationwide postal service.

The Crown is seeking feedback on proposed changes to NZ Post’s service obligations, as part of the 2024 Review of the Deed. Their reasoning is to enable a financially sustainable mail service that continues to meet the communication needs of New Zealanders.

The review does not consider fair pay and conditions for their postal workers or the fact that, once rural outlets are closed, much needed postal services will decline for rural communities.

They are seeking feedback on five key proposed changes

  • Reducing minimum delivery frequency from:
    • Minimum 3 days per week in urban areas, to 2 days per week.
    • Minimum 5 days per week in rural areas, to 3 days per week.
  • Reducing the minimum number of postal outlets from 880 to 500. Considering a glide down to a minimum of 400 over time.
  • Providing for NZ Post to meets its requirement to extend its network in the form of delivering to cluster and community boxes for new addresses.
  • Allowing NZ Post to convert existing delivery points into communal points at a rate of up to 5% per year.
  • Instead of a 5-year period before the next Deed Review, suggesting the next Review be in 3 years.

How to make a submission:

Seeking feedback on moving towards a financially sustainable mail service | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

Submission template: Recap of questions

Submissions must be in before 5pm December 10th

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BNZ expands digital payments capability

Source: BNZ statements

BNZ today announced an investment in New Zealand payments technology company Centrapay to enhance digital payments capabilities across both organisations.

It builds on the established partnership between the organisations, which has led to the development of Payap – New Zealand’s first digital wallet and Point of Sale app compatible with all New Zealand banks. Payap is due to be launched in March next year.

Centrapay CEO Greg Beehre will continue to lead the company.

“With BNZ’s support, we can go further, faster. This enables us to continue delivering for our clients and partners while accelerating growth and development,” Beehre says.

BNZ CEO Dan Huggins says the investment builds on BNZ’s existing payments and open banking infrastructure.

“Payment technology continues to evolve rapidly, and our partnership with Centrapay helps further position us to serve our customers’ changing needs.”

The post BNZ expands digital payments capability appeared first on BNZ Debrief.

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EIT Associate Professor appointed co-chair of academic advisory board of award-winning climate action non-profit | EIT Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

16 minutes ago

Associate Professor Pii-Tuulia NIkula

Pii-Tuulia Nikula, an Associate Professor in EIT’s School of Business, has been appointed Co-chair of  the Academic Advisory Board of the Climate Action Network for International Educators (CANIE).

CANIE is a volunteer grassroots initiative formed by international education practitioners from around the world who see the need for the sector to step up and act on climate. CANIE serves as a platform to bring the sector together to act as a catalyst for action.

CANIE has recently won a number of awards, including the 2024 Catalyst Award from the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), 2024 Membership organisation of the year and 2024 Sustainability international impact award by PIEoneer, and the 2022 President’s Award by European Association for International Education (EAIE).

CANIE announced the academic advisory board appointments in its latest newsletter, saying: “Their expertise and commitment to sustainability in international education will be invaluable as we continue to advance our mission.” Associate Professor Nikula will be co-chair of CANIE’s Academic Advisory Board along with Dr Anne Campbell who is based in the United States

The Academic Advisory Board provides advice on climate change and international education related matters or, when appropriate, responds to requests from the CANIE Global Board in relation to wider issues raised by stakeholders.

Associate Professor Nikula says that she is honoured by the appointment as CANIE plays an important advisory role on sustainability and climate change in international education.

“I am committed to the work CANIE does in the sustainability field in international education. I am looking forward to working with Anne Campbell and our interdisciplinary academic advisory board with expertise in international education, climate science, energy systems/aviation decarbonisation, climate justice, and business/management.”

Associate Professor Nikula is an internationally recognised researcher and innovative educator with extensive industry, teaching and research experience in the fields of management, policy, sustainability and higher education. She teaches courses in sustainable organisations, global strategies and research methods and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate level students. She also has extensive experience in course and curriculum design and programme and course coordination roles

Pii-Tuulia’s work has been published in leading international journals and she has co-edited two books: Sustainable Education Abroad: Striving for Change and Student Recruitment Agents in International Higher Education: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective on Challenges and Best Practices.

EIT Head of the School of Business, Dr Gareth Allison, said: “Associate Professor Nikula’s appointment as Co-chair of CANIE’s Academic Advisory Board is a testament to her exceptional expertise and commitment to sustainability. Her appointment showcases the alignment at EIT between high quality research and real-world impact. We are proud to see her play a pivotal role in this important global initiative.”

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New Port Code could save lives on the waterfront

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union of New Zealand says the new Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) for loading and unloading cargo at ports and on ships could save lives and prevent serious harm on the waterfront.

The ACOP was launched this morning at Port of Auckland as the result of work by the Port Health and Safety Leadership Group made up of port unions, ports and stevedoring companies, the Port Industry Association, and regulator Maritime NZ.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says the Union has been campaigning for a national industry code of practice for years.

He says the ACOP provides clear guidelines to ensure the safety and health of workers involved in loading and unloading cargo at ports. 

“There has been a terrible history of death and injuries over the years in New Zealand ports, and the ACOP will play a major role in prioritizing the health and safety of port workers.”

Mr Findlay says including the workers on the job perspective has been an essential part of developing the ACOP.

He says the task now is to ensure the ACOP is adhered to by employers and understood by port workers.

“The key is making sure the ACOP is having an impact on the day to day practices at ports where Unions are the worker’s voice on the job.”

Mr Findlay says there has been further progress in the industry with the development of fatigue risk management systems and the extension of Maritime NZ’s designation to cover the entire port.