Category: Council Of Trade Unions

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The NZ Council of Trade Unions will be supporting Uber drivers as their legal fight for basic workers’ rights, including even being paid the minimum wage, heads to the Court of Appeal.

Drivers are holding a rally outside the Court of Appeal in Wellington at 9am today, as the court begins its appeal against the Employment Court verdict in 2022 (in a case taken jointly by FIRST Union and E tū) that four drivers were permanent employees, not contractors.

“Uber drivers have been the denied the fundamental rights that most of us are able to take for granted – they aren’t even being paid the minimum wage. It’s wrong and needs to change,” said Acting CTU President Rachel Mackintosh.

“As a country we must support the drivers in their fight against a multinational company that is trampling on their legal employment rights.

“This case is relevant not only to gig or platform workers, but to all working people. All workers who have been misclassified as contractors have the right to test their employment status in court, and it should worry us all that this Government is threatening to take that right away.

“The distinction between an employee, who works for an employer under their control and direction, and a genuinely independent contractor (who carries out a business in their own right) is an essential one that the court has an important role in upholding.

“The difference between a contractor and employee is one of substance. The uber drivers who are at the heart of this case are, in substance, employees. They are not independent contractors; they have no ability to bargain contracts and are significantly under the control of the platform provider, who dictates their pay and punishes them if they try and take control of their hours.

“Gig economy workers exist in an employment context that heightens their vulnerability to unfair treatment. That’s why we need to reform employment law to protect their rights, not undermine them as this Government has threatened,” said Mackintosh.

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Minister Brooke van Velden’s speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce last night is another alarming sign of the Government’s low regard for workers’ basic rights.

“The Minister appeared to endorse proposals that would strip workers of essential basic workplace protections,” said Acting CTU President Rachel Mackintosh.

“The union movement wishes to speak urgently with the Minister about these remarks which follows the indecent haste to scrap Fair Pay Agreements and reinstate 90-day trials.

 “It is particularly concerning to hear that the Minister wants to review health and safety law. New Zealand has an appalling health and safety record, with approximately 17 workers killed as a consequence of their work every week. Every 15 minutes a worker suffers an injury that requires more than a week away from work. The lessons from Pike River tell us that we need stronger health and safety law, not lighter touch regulation. Nobody gains from that.

 “The Minister also highlighted contractors as an area where ‘certainty’ was needed. Right now, workers can go to court to show that they are employees – which is what Uber workers did. The Minister and the National/ACT coalition agreement appears to want to take away that right. This would strip essential protections such as leave, sickness, ACC, and more from thousands of the most vulnerable workers.

 “We’re also appalled to hear the Minister complaining about the advances that have been made for workers in recent years. Increasing the minimum wage occurred while we had record-low unemployment. Sick leave entitlement increased to match Australia. Paid Parental Leave increased to 26 weeks. These are all good things for workers, and their families. They should be celebrated, not used as reasons for complaint.

 “The Minister set out a vision for the economy built on flexibility – the same language was used in the early 1990s by Jim Bolger and Ruth Richardson to strip workers of so many protections.

“If she has her way, this flexibility will come from working people losing their rights, their health, and their terms and conditions of employment. This isn’t a vision for a better economy, it’s a prescription for the kind of low wage, low productivity economy we should be leaving behind. The Minister has recently refused to engage with workers representatives, we would urge her to reconsider.” “We will be outlining our concerns to the Minister, and requesting a discussion on her policy agenda  and how it will impact working people.”

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Changes to taxation for landlords have blown out in cost and taken the Government’s tax plans with them said CTU Economist and Director of Policy Craig Renney. “At the election, the National party claimed that the return of interest deductibility would cost $2.1bn. Now we discover it’s going to cost nearly $800m more”.

“This Government appears to have its priorities all wrong. It is committed to fattening the wallets of landlords, but it won’t commit to feeding hungry children in schools. There is no economic evidence that shows this tax cut will lead to lower rents. But there is plenty of evidence that nearly $3bn could make a huge difference to the state housing waitlist, or to those seeing their benefits cut in real terms”.

Renney said “This adds to the problems that National had in opposition making its tax plan add up. This blow-out for landlords needs to be added to the $1.35bn missing from welfare indexation savings. The potential $3bn from foreign buyers has gone, and the cost of indexing income tax changes is likely to be much higher than forecast.”

“This will likely mean deeper cuts to essential public services to pay for this plan. That in turn will impact every community around New Zealand. These are huge sums of money that could be invested in those with the very highest needs. Instead, it’s simply going to inflate the housing market again and force first home buyers to the sidelines”.

Renney said “It’s not too late to change. This tax change will go through the House very soon, but the Government could withdraw the bill and explain to New Zealanders why nearly $3bn needs to be spent in this way, instead of rebuilding the 350 schools that have been paused. It’s time to change track and invest in New Zealand, not landlords. 

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZ Council of Trade Unions Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges is marking International Women’s Day by calling on the Government to implement mandatory ethnic and gender pay gap reporting and follow Australia’s lead who recently released their first round of mandatory reporting.

In 2023, the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women, acting as New Zealand’s Pay Transparency Advisory Group, recommended that a mandatory reporting system be adopted to help lower the ethnic and gender pay gap and increase transparency. The previous Government agreed to introduce legislation, but this did not occur before the election.
 
A mandatory system was supported at the time by the National Party and employer organisations such as the EMA.
 
“The Government needs to live up to their words in opposition and introduce legislation that requires pay gap reporting,” said Ansell-Bridges.
 
“We know that greater pay transparency through mandatory reporting will empower women and all working people to improve their pay.
 
“While the gender pay gap in Aotearoa New Zealand has fallen significantly since 1998, it is unacceptable that women are still paid 8.6% less than men. The gender pay gap for wāhine Māori, Pacific and Asian women, and disabled women is significantly higher.
 
“No one in New Zealand should suffer the indignity of pay discrimination due to their gender or ethnicity.
 
“Government has a chance to significantly improve the standard of living for women across the country by following expert advice and Australia’s lead. They need to take it,” said Ansell-Bridges.

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The CTU has sent a letter to the European Commissioner of Trade to bring his attention to New Zealand’s disregard of its obligations under the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of the NZ–EU FTA by the Government’s repeal of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs). The European Trade Union Confederation are also writing to the Commissioner.

Under the FTA, ‘a party shall not weaken or reduce the levels of protection afforded in labour law in order to encourage trade or investment’. But in the draft cabinet paper prepared for FPA repeal, a rationale given for repeal was that it is ‘crucial to business growth and investment’.
 
“We wrote to Minister van Velden in December 2023 before FPAs were repealed, to warn her of the risks to the NZ–EU FTA. We were deeply concerned that the Minister brushed aside our concerns, illustrating the Government’s intention to disregard the provisions of the agreement,” said Acting CTU President, Rachel Mackintosh.
 
“New Zealand has historically staked its international reputation on being a good faith partner in trade agreements and has been a vocal supporter of the rules-based international order. The Government’s recent employment law reforms run counter to these commitments.
 
“The CTU does not want to see New Zealand be party to an Agreement if we have actively undermined core provisions of it before it’s even ratified. This will negatively impact New Zealand’s international reputation and our ability to pursue and agree other free trade agreements in the future.
 
“Fair Pay Agreements would have supported thousands of some of the lowest paid workers in New Zealand by lifting their wages and setting core industry standards,” said Mackintosh.

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

In response to news that ACC plans to cut operational spending by 6.5%, CTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Minister of Finance to prioritise the protection of essential services over irresponsible tax cuts.

“These sweeping cuts at ACC will put the health of New Zealanders at risk, demonstrating the devastating impact of the Minister of Finance’s directive for huge spending cuts across the public service,” said Wagstaff.
 
“Such significant cuts in operational spending will lead to job losses and less reliable services, compromising ACC’s ability to support people in need. It will now be much harder for people to access their entitlements and get the help they need to recover from injuries.
 
“I am very concerned for the workers at ACC whose jobs are now on the line, my thoughts are with them.
 
“In a desperate attempt to find the money to pay for tax cuts for wealthy landlords, this Government is undermining the essential services and workers who keep this country running.
 
“At a time when New Zealand’s population is growing rapidly, Government should be investing more to meet growing need, but instead the Minister of Finance is taking a slash and burn approach. It’s totally irresponsible,” said Wagstaff.

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Stand Up, the youth union movement, today commemorated the Government’s 90th day in power by using its own new employment policy, the 90-day trial period, to issue Prime Minister Christopher Luxon with a termination letter outlining how his Government has failed to meet the expectations of young workers.

“We wanted make sure the Prime Minister knows that young workers won’t take these attacks lying down,” said Stand Up Co-convenor Justine Sachs.
 
“The reintroduction of 90-day trials to all businesses creates uncertainty for workers starting out a new job, with no real evidence that these carry the labour market benefits the Government has claimed they do.
 
“It’s gone from bad to worse, with the recent decision to cut the minimum wage in real terms, ensuring that those struggling to make ends meet fall further behind in a cost-of-living crisis,” said Sachs.
 
“The beauty of 90-day trials, according to Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden back in December when reintroducing them, was their ability to help a business “find the right fit” in a worker. As young workers, we just don’t think this Government is the right fit to steer us through a cost of living and climate crisis,” said Stand Up Co-convenor, Dr Zoë Port.
 
“Our expectations were already low – but the reality that younger workers are now faced with is even bleaker than we imagined. We’re watching workers rights’ being stripped away, using brute force, under parliamentary urgency.
 
“If the Government is so confident, why not let their decisions, like the decision to reintroduce 90-day trials for all businesses, stand up to normal democratic scrutiny via select committee? I say the answer is simple – because they’re not up to the job,” said Port.

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The NZ Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi is calling on Government to regulate greater protections for migrant workers including decoupling work visas from single employers, and for a comprehensive review into the policy settings of the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV).

This follows the release of the review into Immigration New Zealand’s administration of the AEWV scheme, which found that the scheme did not work as intended and that INZ could have done more to minimise the risk of abuse. It found that “MBIE do not appear to have a methodology or approach through which they regularly are able to calibrate the extent or nature of migrant exploitation”.

“The Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme has enabled systemic and widespread exploitation of migrant workers in Aotearoa New Zealand,” said CTU President Richard Wagstaff.

“We have seen case after case of migrant workers having their human rights violated and being used as a source of cheap labour for unscrupulous employers.

“Work visas shouldn’t enable the exploitation of migrant workers. Government must ensure that migrant workers are protected. Decoupling work visas from single employers, and allowing them to work with work with other accredited firms would be a great place to start.

“There needs to be a wider review of the AEWV scheme that looks at the policy settings and the extent of the exploitation of migrant workers in those industries using the scheme, rather than just the administration of the scheme.

“Migrant workers must be afforded with the same fundamental rights and conditions as all workers in New Zealand and should be treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve,” said Wagstaff.