Category: Employment Issues

Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: First ever New Zealand Roundtable on a Just Transition to a sustainable economy

The Council of Trade Unions is holding today in Wellington the first ever Roundtable for government, businesses, Māori representatives, trade unions and environmentalists on a Just Transition. The Roundtable will explore how New Zealand will fairly transition to a net-zero emissions economy, with good jobs in well-supported communities.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Does New Zealand have low wages? Yes.

It is often said that New Zealand has a low-wage economy in comparison to other high-income countries such as those in their club, the OECD. Business NZ recently disputed that. But there is strong evidence that New Zealand does have low wages.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Kiwirail and union members show how good collective bargaining can be

Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sam Huggard extended his congratulations to Kiwirail and Rail and Maritime Union (RMTU) members today for reaching a constructive and progressive deal yesterday to lift pay and work in partnership. Mr Huggard says this deal disproves recent scaremongering by employers like the Ports of Tauranga that Multi Employer Collective Agreements hamper business.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Expertise of clinicians needs to be valued in health sector

The Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sam Huggard said today that unions were supporting a public health system that listened to and valued the advice of clinicians, in response to the Association of Salaried Medical Specialist’s concerns about our pathology services.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: What confidence can we have in “business confidence”?

‘Business confidence’ is falling and we should be very concerned, we are told. But is ‘business confidence’ really falling and is it anything more than an opinion poll of some chief executives as to what they think of the Government of the day, or their impression (which may not be any more accurate than yours or mine) of where the economy is going?

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Budget health analysis shows reverse in downwards trend, but much more needed

Council of Trade Unions Economist Dr Bill Rosenberg and the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Director of Policy Lyndon Keene today jointly released detailed analysis of the 2018/2019 health budget which shows $2.5 billion would need to be put in to the next Government budget to both meet that year’s needs and restore funding to 2009/2010 levels.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: The Budget: bleeding stopped, patient’s condition still serious

In memoriam: This is the 200th CTU Economic Bulletin. It was founded by my predecessor, Peter Conway, CTU economist and then CTU Secretary, who wrote the first 101 issues. He died just three years ago, on 9 June 2015. We still miss his wisdom, values, activism, music and friendship.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Holidays Act changes to be worked through between unions, business and Government

The Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff said today that he was looking forward to working with business and Government on a review of the Holidays Act to ensure working people are fully and properly paid what they legally earn.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Payroll needs to recognise that parenting is skilled work too

The Council of Trade Unions said that new research released this morning by public policy researchers at Motu shows parenthood is undervalued by employers as skilled but unpaid work, with mothers being impacted by a lifelong ‘parenthood penalty’. Secretary Sam Huggard said the research illustrates how undervaluing what is perceived as unpaid ‘women’s work’ has an interaction with paid work, and strongly contributes to the gender pay gap.

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Source: Council Of Trade Unions (CTU) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Government facing over two and a half billion health funding gap

New figures released today by Council of Trade Unions Economist Dr Bill Rosenberg and the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Director of Policy Lyndon Keene show the health funding gap since 2009/2010 has grown to $2.7 billion. This amount would be needed in Thursday’s Budget to fund services to the same level they were supported in 2010, and pay for new initiatives.

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