Category: Employment Issues

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Wellington rally to save Fair Pay Agreements! – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Kia ora koutou,

Join members from across different unions in Wellington this Wednesday to tell the National-led Governments not to cancel our Fair Pay Agreements

When: Wednesday 13 December, 1pm
Where: Parliament Steps

Fair Pay Agreements are our best chance in decades to really improve things for some of our most vulnerable workers. E tū members in cleaning and security have already initiated Fair Pay Agreements, along with bus drivers, supermarket workers, and ECE teachers.

However, the new Government wants to cancel our Fair Pay Agreements before the first ones are even completed. We need to stand together and tell them not to! Join us at Parliament to make sure your voice is heard.

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Te Pūkenga disestablishment reveals Government’s lack of plan

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The announced disestablishment of Te Pūkenga shows the Government has no plan for vocational education, says the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.

NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said he was deeply concerned about the impact that another change process will have on the provision of vocational education to the workforce.

“The government’s approach to change is to terminate existing arrangements without producing a plan for what will replace it, leaving everyone in the lurch and without any certainty. The consequences of taking this approach at Te Pūkenga are enormous.”

The disestablishment of Te Pūkenga is going to mean several more years of uncertainty in this sector, threatening continuity of vocational training and adding enormous stress for an already exhausted Te Pūkenga staff.

“This is another example of the new government’s absence of vision and its disregard for workforce development and workers’ wellbeing.”

Wagstaff said the Government is underestimating how costly this change process will be, in terms of losing momentum to service delivery, impact on learners, impact on current staff, and financially.

“The new Government has talked repeatedly about being careful with taxpayer money, and about doing evidence-based policy. Yet it is embarking on an uncosted and unplanned restructure of the vocational education sector without providing any evidence as to how this will improve outcomes for learners. This is the very opposite of responsible government.”

Wagstaff said that the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds needs to front up with a plan.

“The NZCTU invites Minister Simmonds to articulate her vision for vocational education, and to explain how the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga will deliver this vision. We also invite the Minister to do some homework and figure out how much this is all going to cost.”

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Work-related health newsletter – December 2023

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

Our December work-related health update.

Updates in this edition include:

  • useful links and guidance to help you get ready for summer
  • new guidance on event management
  • case studies on mentally healthy work in retail
  • information on exposure risk management – respiratory protective equipment and facial hair
  • updated guidance on the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act
  • a Farmstrong initiative helping farmers manage mental health and wellbeing
  • information on 2023 Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) scholarships applications; and
  • upcoming conferences.

Read the full newsletter(external link)

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Workplace Relations Minister is misleading New Zealanders, say unions

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The new Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden must be upfront with the public, say the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.

NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said yesterday’s Newstalk ZB interview with Minister van Velden contained false information.

“The NZCTU was categorically not consulted on repealing Fair Pay Agreements by the new Minister.

“It is very concerning that the Minister of Workplace Relations doesn’t understand what consultation is in practice, considering the importance of this concept for the portfolio.”

Wagstaff said that the public announcement of FPAs being repealed before Christmas was made at the same time that the NZCTU first met with the Minister.

“We are unsure if the timing of the meeting was deliberate, and whether it was done so she could pretend that consultation did happen.

“Genuine consultation cannot occur if a decision has already been reached by the Minister.

“At no point did the Minister say she wanted to consult on FPAs. She asked us ‘to explain what an FPA was’ and ‘to give her an update on our thinking on where they are up to’.

“She did suggest she was weighing things up, but we were not invited to brief her properly on FPAs as part of a consultation Cabinet paper process.

“At no point were alternate options canvassed, nor was the government’s position, timetable, or the possible consequences of the end of FPAs discussed.”

Wagstaff said Minister van Velden invited him to a meeting after receiving the NZCTU’s written Briefing to the Incoming Government, and that during the half hour meeting, Fair Pay Agreements were discussed for ten minutes.

Wagstaff said, “We want to have a constructive relationship with this Government, in the way we have been able to do with all previous Governments. This is not the start we would’ve hoped for.”

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More than 10k people sign petition to keep FPAs

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Unions are heartened by the response to a petition to keep Fair Pay Agreements, which has now reached well over 10,000 signatures.

NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said it was a sign of how popular the new legislation was amongst workers.

“We are seeing working people standing together to protect FPAs. Workers have been doing it tough during the cost-of-living crisis, and the single most effective protection we have is Fair Pay Agreements.

“FPAs could revolutionise entire industries, lifting pay, conditions, and access to training. We also believe the new laws will stop the brain drain to places like Australia, which have similar systems to FPAs in place.

“This is a game-changer for hundreds of thousands of Kiwi workers.”

The petition milestone was reached after Newshub yesterday revealed that the Government was ignoring the negative impacts of repealing Fair Pay Agreements, and the advice of its own officials.  That advice showed the repeal would disproportionately affect already marginalised workers, such women, disabled workers, Māori, and Pasifika.

FPAs have already been initiated in multiple low-paying industries, including bus driving, cleaning, security, hospitality, supermarkets, early childhood education, and port work.

Wagstaff said, “Any Government whose first move is to strip the promise of a better working life away from hundreds of thousands of people is profoundly out of touch.

“They should be listening to the people who would benefit from an FPA, and to the thousands who want to see FPAs protected.”

The petition can be accessed at: https://www.together.org.nz/keep_fair_pay_coming

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Leaked paper shows disregard for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Kiwi workers

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

A cabinet consultation paper provided to the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions by Newshub today, shows the incoming Government is disregarding the negative impact of repealing Fair Pay Agreements, and the advice of their own officials.    

NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said the paper shows the Government ignoring the impact on workers in a cost-of-living crisis and reflected poorly on Christopher Luxon’s management of the policy.

“This demonstrates the profoundly out of touch priorities Christopher Luxon has for New Zealand. Alnd already, it seems like he’s lost control of his cabinet.

“This Government has made a choice to prioritise cutting pay and conditions for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Kiwi workers, by repealing the FPA Act.”

The paper outlines the process by which Fair Pay Agreements would be repealed. In one section, it outlined who would benefit from improvements to working conditions.

“Given [women, Māori, Pacific people, and young people] are disproportionately represented in workforces where there are lower employment terms, they could have disproportionately benefited from any improved terms obtained by an FPA.”

Wagstaff said Luxon was ignoring the evidence provided by officials about how damaging this move will be.

“By pushing forward with this, Luxon is taking money directly from the pockets of hundreds of thousands of hardworking Kiwis. This comes after last week, where the NZCTU discovered that the Government was prioritising paying out $3 billion for landlords.”

The paper also states that the NZCTU has been consulted on this process. Wagstaff said no proper consultation had taken place with the NZCTU.

“After campaigning to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, one of the first actions of this Government is to make it harder for many workers to get ahead, and to get the protections they deserve. It just proves what we said all along during the campaign that Christopher Luxon is out of touch.”

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The Government must fund care workers before landlords – E tū

Source: Etu Union

E tū, the biggest private sector union in Aotearoa New Zealand, is shocked to learn that the National Party’s coalition agreement with ACT would see planned tax breaks for landlords brought forward, costing at least $900 million according to analysis by the Council of Trade Unions.

The news comes as the new National-led Government is announcing more details about their fiscal plan. E tū urges the Government to prioritise workers and their communities, including essential workers in care and support.

One area that needs urgent attention is funding for the care and support pay equity claim. Care and support workers have already waited too long for proper recognition of their skills.

Caregiver and Convenor of the E tū Community Support Industry Council, Marianne Bishop, says funding the sector properly is long overdue.

“It’s stupid that the sector has always been so underfunded,” Marianne says.

“People pay taxes their whole lives, but then have to fight for the care they need when they are older.

“The new Government has some important decisions to make about their priorities. Landlords are not doing it tough, but care and support workers certainly are.

“We have only had up to a 3% pay rise in the last year, with some of us getting nothing, despite the cost of living increasing so much more than that. Everyone is really struggling, especially our colleagues in home support who have to cover their own vehicle costs and other expenses.”

Marianne says the Government needs to fund pay equity to ensure the care sector can function properly in the future.

“We have an ageing population and an ageing workforce. What’s going to happen in 10, or 20 years’ time? How are going to attract new people into the industry if they can’t earn a living? It’s just not going to work.

“We won the first settlement under a National Government in 2017, now it’s time for them to step up again. They keep saying that people voted for change, well now it’s time to really change things for people who need care and those who provide it.” 

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National Government cancelling Fair Pay Agreements will increase inequality – E tū

Source: Etu Union

E tū, the biggest private sector union in Aotearoa New Zealand, says the new National-led Government’s 100-day plan announcement that they will repeal the legislation for Fair Pay Agreements is a giant step backwards.

Fair Pay Agreements were set up under the previous Government as a mechanism for sector-wide collective bargaining, establishing new minimum pay and conditions that would apply to every covered worker. The law provides full democratic participation from both workers and employers and is similar to sector-wide bargaining processes used around the world, such as Australia’s modern awards.

Security guard Rosey Ngakopu, who has been a key member leader in E tū’s campaign for Fair Pay Agreements, is hugely disappointed.

“It just feels like a slap in the face, it’s completely disrespectful and stupid to cancel our Fair Pay Agreements,” Rosey says.

“Us security guards and our brothers and sisters in cleaning really need improvement in our industries. That’s what Fair Pay Agreements are all about. We need better wages, we need better job protection, and we need proper health and safety. They’ve taken it all away.”

“That’s just the National Party for you though, that’s what they do. Whatever we are able to win, they’ll just rip it away.”

E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh says the decision will mean workers who have initiated Fair Pay Agreements are missing out on a huge opportunity.

“Fair Pay Agreements were the best improvement to employment law in decades,” Rachel says.

“The mechanism was carefully developed to give workers a real chance at finally winning better pay and conditions. E tū members in cleaning and security have long faced a working life of low wages and inadequate conditions, especially relating to key issues like health and safety, job security, and opportunities for career progression.

“We know that low wages are the key driver of inequality, and workers in industries like cleaning and security suffer the consequences. By removing Fair Pay Agreements before the first ones have even been negotiated, the Government is attacking the most vulnerable people in Aotearoa’s workforce.”

Rachel says this is a poor start for the new Government.

“This decision adds to many more that demonstrate the Government’s backwards priorities. They have announced the return of 90-day trials for all, despite evidence they threaten job security without any meaningful benefit to business or job opportunities.

Further, Rachel says the proposal to remove peoples’ rights to challenge their employment status as contractors in the Employment Court will lock in exploitation and severely constrain the access to justice that is fundamental to our democracy.

“E tū is also deeply concerned about National’s attack on working people on a range of fronts, including through its tax policy. It is galling that this government will remove our world-leading smokefree initiative to help pay for tax cuts for landlords and those already well-off.”

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Journalists reject Deputy PM’s comments about the media – E tū

Source: Etu Union

In light of the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters’ recent comments about the media, a group of journalists who serve as E tū delegates say these claims are misinformed.

Mr Peters has claimed the Public Interest Journalism Fund was a government “bribe” – which is a well-known but incorrect claim made amongst those who peddle conspiracy theories. He has further doubled down on that by saying he is at “war” with the media. We strongly reject claims of a bribe.

Journalism was just one of many industries that got government help as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. There was never any expectation tied to the Public Interest Journalism funding to cover any one topic, or in any one way, and there were clear and well-publicised conditions for the work produced.

While journalists strongly reject Mr Peters’ claims, we will all continue to cover him, New Zealand First, and all parties in an unbiased way. The media has an important role to play in a democracy, holding politicians to account and acting as a watchdog for the community. 

Journalists at the front line doing their job have faced strong and sometimes unusual pressures recently from people acting on strong views, to limit reporting or the how stories are told.

By spreading misinformation and supporting conspiracy theories, Mr Peters is placing journalists at risk. We urge Mr Peters, as well as other senior politicians and public figures, to support and protect our independent media, not attack it. 

The Post and Stuff delegate Tom Hunt said it was ludicrous to label PIJF a bribe.

“Many of the PIJF journalists were also union members and were bound by E tū’s journalistic ethics, which enshrines editorial independence from outside influence.  

“The Media Council also has principles saying publications should be ‘bound at all times by accuracy, fairness and balance’. Furthermore, media companies have their own standards which enshrine independence. 

“Taking aim at these journalists who are now, or will soon, be facing the end of PIJF funding is a cynical cheap shot.” 

RNZ delegate Phil Pennington said RNZ journalists strive every day to meet the demands of their stringent editorial standards, standards shared with many other media organisations.

“Our journalists’ daily work helps support and protect an environment of free debate and wide-ranging input, and we hope and trust all our political leaders’ efforts do, too.”

Another experienced journalist told E tū that Winston Peters’ attack on the media was reminiscent of how Sir Robert Muldoon behaved. He attacked unionists and journalists, infamously refusing to allow journalist and cartoonist Tom Scott to attend press conferences.

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Restaurant owner penalised for unlawful wage deductions

Source: Employment New Zealand

The order was made by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) in a recent determination. This follows an earlier Labour Inspectorate investigation into the matter.

Businessman Vijay Singh, the sole shareholder and director of Laxmi Narayan Restaurant Ltd, trading as Karfa Moroccan Cuisine, was also ordered to pay a further $11,250 in penalties to the Crown.

He was found to have unlawfully deducted money from his restaurant manager’s wages over a 2-year period, underpaid him, failed to pay him for holidays and leave, and under-recorded the hours the employee worked in exchange for having helped him obtain a work visa.

This resulted in the employee regularly receiving payment for fewer hours than he had worked and he was working up to 25 hours a week for which he wasn’t being paid.

The ERA ordered Laxmi Narayan Restaurant Ltd to pay the employee:

  • minimum wage arrears of $19,320.53
  • unlawful deductions of $3,865.79
  • holiday and leave arrears of $3,674.07
  • interest of $2,019.27.

Laxmi Narayan Restaurant Ltd is ordered to pay penalties of $17,000 while Mr Singh must pay a penalty of $5,500. Half the penalty amounts are to be paid to the employee and the other half to the Crown. If Laxmi Narayan Restaurant Ltd is unable to pay, Mr Singh is liable for both amounts.