Category: Unions

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Posted on

RBNZ data highlights weak economy and labour market

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

“Unemployment is forecast to remain elevated until the end of 2025 and isn’t expected to fall back to its pre-recession lows within the forecast period. Without a plan to reduce it, we are choosing a permanently higher unemployment rate in New Zealand. It’s no wonder so many Kiwis are emigrating overseas,” said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney.

Today’s announcement by the Reserve Bank shows that the economy will remain weak going into 2025, and that unemployment will continue to climb, said Renney. “The forecasts show that employment is likely to remain below 2023 levels until December 2025 – while the labour force grows by 28,000 during that period. Over the past year economic growth was effectively zero.”

“Business investment won’t hit 2023 levels until 2027. Residential investment is still falling. Government spending falls and returns to its current level in 2026. There is no engine of economic growth except private spending, which is weak.”

“Many people will celebrate the fall in interest rates, and the hope that this will bring financial relief. But this data also shows that the labour market is in for the long-haul. Yet there is no plan to help towns like Tokoroa or Timaru deal with the closure of large employers. It’s time for a different track.” Renny said.

Posted on

Maritime Union welcomes conviction of ex Port of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has welcomed the conviction of former Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson on a health and safety charge.

Mr Gibson was found guilty by Judge Bonnar in the Auckland District Court this morning.

Charges were laid against Mr Gibson by industry regulator Maritime New Zealand under the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015) following the death of POAL employee Mr Pala’amo (Amo) Kalati on 30 August 2020.

The Court found Mr Gibson failed to ensure adequate systems were in place to manage critical risks, particularly around crane operations and exclusion zones.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says the conviction brings to an end “an era of failure at the highest levels of Port of Auckland which had tragic outcomes for workers, their families and their colleagues.”

Mr Findlay says the Maritime Union made repeated attempts to draw attention to health and safety concerns at POAL during Mr Gibson’s tenure, which were minimized and downplayed.

“This conviction vindicates the stance of our Union but it sadly comes too late for those who died due to the failure to ensure a safe workplace.”

He says thoughts today should go out to the families and those left behind after deaths on the waterfront.

“Today’s outcome sends a message that workers lives mean something, and that highly paid decision makers are accountable for their decisions.” 

“We hope other senior managers and Board members reflect and gain insight into the effect on innocent working people when health and safety is not prioritized.”

He says new management at the Ports of Auckland have taken a positive approach to engaging with workers and the Union, and this has resulted in health and safety and the wellbeing of workers at the Port becoming a priority.

“Following the ignominious resignation and departure of Mr Gibson in 2021, the Maritime Union has worked together successfully with new management at POAL and stevedoring companies in Auckland to develop a code of practice to ensure best safety practices in stevedoring.”

The Maritime Union would continue to campaign for corporate manslaughter laws that reflected its view – “Kill a worker, go to jail.”

This is the first time a chief executive from a company of POAL’s size had been charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Posted on

Report reflects teachers’ concerns about shambolic implementation of NCEA L1

Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)

“Much of the report reflects feedback that we received from PPTA members last October. The late delivery of resources, particularly assessment exemplars, and lack of effective planning, has been appalling. Clearly, the expertise of teachers and leaders in schools and in the subject associations has been what has got students over the line. Teachers’ professional knowledge and commitment has filled in the gaps left by the NZ Qualifications Authority and Ministry of Education.

“The shambolic implementation of NCEA Level 1 has only served to make already overworked and overloaded teachers seriously consider their future in the profession. Teachers are having to fill the gaps caused by a worsening secondary teacher shortage – they absolutely need the NCEA changes to be supported fully and rolled out smoothly.”

He said teachers supported the quick changes recommended in the ERO report. “In the longer term, more substantive changes need to be agreed with the teaching profession, and they need to be made carefully so we aren’t in the position of being in a change process, on top of a change process.”

The current Government needed to shoulder some responsibility for the implementational shambles this year. “Their requirement for public sector cuts saw almost all specialist support for NCEA implementation removed from the Ministry through a chaotic restructuring at the start of the year.”

PPTA Te Wehengarua members, at their annual conference in October, insisted that the Ministry and NZQA develop an urgent improvement plan for NCEA Level 1 assessment to be rolled out from the start of next year. Young people deserved a fully resourced and well implemented national qualification system.

Teachers supported the changes that were planned through the NCEA review, said Chris Abercrombie. “The proposed changes were positive and broadly aligned with PPTA Te Wehengarua’s original criteria for a valid qualifications framework – that it is fair, inclusive, cumulative, clear, motivating, coherent, constructive and manageable.

“However, teachers have been deeply disappointed and frustrated by the lack of proper resourcing and grossly inadequate implementation of the changes.

“The Government also needs to step up and resource vital roles like the Principals’ Nominee, who is the teacher in a school that is responsible for ensuring the NZQA requirements for assessment are met.”

Posted on

Kinleith workers angry about proposal to cut 230 jobs – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Workers at OJI Fibre Solutions’ Kinleith mill in Tokoroa are hugely disappointed to learn today about a company proposal to end paper manufacturing, which would result in the loss of 230 jobs.

The workers, who are members of E tū, FIRST Union, and AWUNZ, were told about the proposal in a meeting this morning. Head delegate Ian Farall says the proposal demonstrates the failures of the company.

“I think it’s been a long time in the making, but the company has known it was going to get to this point, and have mismanaged the whole process,” Ian says.

“We’re all very disappointed by their inability to turn it around. They can’t control what the market does, but they could have been much better prepared for this point in the cycle.

“There have been many problems at the mill, they have not kept up with maintenance, and they have not made the right investments to secure a future for paper production.”

Ian says all members are feeling let down.

“There were a lot of angry people in the meeting this morning. People were speaking from the heart, about how disappointed they are. Union members had a near-unanimous vote of no-confidence in the management, to show how frustrated we are. Many chose to simply walk out.

“It’s not just the directly impacted workers who are angry. We’re in unity here, and we know the downstream effects will harm the whole community. It’s the truck drivers, the local cafes and other businesses – many people locally rely on the mill as the heartbeat of south Waikato.”

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Joe Gallagher, has been meeting with the members and management this morning. He calls on the company to do better by their workers.

“OJI have got themselves into this situation, and they can’t just hang the workers out to dry,” Joe says.

“We don’t believe the company has done everything they can to avoid this outcome. It’s a hell of a thing to tell people with Christmas just around the corner, and we need a longer period of consultation to really understand the potential alternatives to stopping paper production completely.”

Joe says the Government must also step up to support domestic manufacturing.

“The crisis in manufacturing is not simply about unstoppable global market forces. It’s the result of an ineffective energy market, a lack of planning for a Just Transition, and a Government asleep at the wheel.

“We will not become a high-skill, high-wage economy while our political leadership continues with such a hands-off approach to our industries. Kinleith is not the first plant to be in this position recently and it may not be the last.

“Now’s the time for both businesses and the Government to get real about the crisis before us and work to reverse it. That’s the leadership communities like Tokoroa deserve.”

Posted on

Pike River: 14 years on and far too many of us are being injured at work – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Statement by Mark Anderson, E tū Engineering, Infrastructure, and Extractives Industry Convenor

E tū acknowledges the anniversary of the 29 workers killed at Pike River. Today in Parliament the Minister of Workplace Relations, ACT MP Brooke van Velden, read out a statement commemorating the miners. While it is right that the House took time to recognise the hurt and pain caused by the explosion and its aftermath, the Government needs to do more honour the legacy of Pike River.  

The Minister’s actions on health and safety show the Minister has failed to understand the lessons of Pike River. Instead of boosting health and safety at work, her party and her Government are looking for ways to water down the protections it has delivered.

The Minister’s motion moved was:

That this House notes that today in 2010, 29 miners lost their lives while at work in the Pike River Mine: express its condolences to family and friends who will forever be profoundly impacted; and thank rescue and support teams for their service on that day and the days that followed.

If we want to honour the workers who died at Pike River, then let’s remember that WorkSafe and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 were an outcome of the Royal Commission of Enquiry. The true legacy of Pike River is that 14 years on we have managed to reduce serious injuries and deaths at work. But more is needed. The level of danger to workers is still far too high.

According to Stats NZ, last year a quarter of a million people were injured at work with 43,200 serious injuries or deaths. That is 120 serious injuries every day. There were 54 fatal work-related injuries. This is down from the 81 New Zealanders killed in 2022 but it is a fact that workers are still dying and that 43,200 serious injuries is still too many. One worker a week is dying at work in New Zealand.  

Pike River happened because the owners of the mine put potential profit before worker safety. They failed to be good managers. They blew up their business. They killed 29 miners and devastated the West Coast community.

The explosion in the mine was a brutal reminder that health and safety is not a barrier to business and economic progress. Better health and safety protects workers and it improves business productivity. We will have a better economy when we stop killing and injuring people at work.

The Health and Safety at Work Act is a good piece of legislation. It works because it requires everyone at work play a role in health and safety and it because ensures workers have a voice in how health and safety is practiced. Spending more on Worksafe and doing more to improve the Act and improve the guidelines, training and regulations that bring the Act to life must be a priority for every government. We owe it to the miners who died at Pike River to do more.

Posted on

Kinleith mill closure shows need for industrial strategy

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa.

“The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for the 230 workers and their families, it is another major blow to regional manufacturing in Aotearoa New Zealand,” said Wagstaff.

“Over the last several months we have seen significant job losses in the regional manufacturing sector, with worksites closing around the country.

“The Government’s failure to step in and protect these communities demonstrates their lack of concern for regional New Zealand and the care for workers and their whānau.

“This is not about crudely subsidising and giving handouts to particular companies, it’s about putting forward an economic and industrial strategy that supports industries and regions to protect and generate good jobs and create full employment for working people.

“What’s needed is a government that is willing to show leadership on economic development by working with industry and unions to deliver good work and high living standards for all.

“Workers also deserve active support when they lose their jobs, not just sympathy. That’s why for years we have been calling on successive governments to adopt a social insurance scheme that would protect workers through redundancy.

“We haven’t seen ministers lift a finger for any of the workers who lost their jobs in this sector, and yet they will support landlords and higher income earners with billions of dollars’ worth of tax cuts.

“Unless the Government responds to the pain that regional communities are experiencing with active industrial policy, we are going to continue to see the loss of more and more manufacturing jobs in this country,” said Wagstaff.

Posted on

Uniformed Defence Force should not be used as strike breakers

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is criticising the Defence Minister Judith Collins for deploying the military as strike breakers against their own people.

“In a modern liberal democracy, any deployment of the armed forces in employment relations is a drastic step, and should be avoided at all costs,” said Wagstaff.

“The first thing a responsible employer and Minister should do is make a reasonable offer in good faith to settle the collective agreement. That has not occurred and right now seems to be the last thing they want to do.

“To so easily bring out the military against their own people – the civilian defence force – is reckless and will do nothing to build organisational cohesion and commitment.

“NZDF civilian staff represented by their union, the PSA, don’t expect to come under attack just because they want to settle their collective agreement and have taken lawful industrial action in support of their modest claims.

“But NZDF don’t appear to want to settle, if they did, they would make a reasonable offer – not the current offer of 0% which is not reasonable.

“It’s alarming that the Minster opted to take this course of action, instead of urging the NZDF to turn up at the bargaining table with real intent to settle.

“This Government is at war with an imaginary enemy they call the ‘back office’, when they should understand that any capable military force, like other industries, depends on the support of hard-working civilians who provide the foundation for operational success.

“The real enemy of the defence force and public services in general is not the back office, it’s under investment, low morale and poor leadership from this Government.

“The Minister should be supporting those who job it is to support the military, by pressing NZDF into getting an agreement with the PSA,” said Wagstaff.

Posted on

Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers.

Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was drawn from the ballot.

“This Bill would be a major backwards step. It is an attack on the rights of working people and makes it less likely that workers will be treated with fairness and respect in their relationships with employers,” said Wagstaff.

“Brooke van Velden has said that she supports the Bill ‘in her capacity as a fellow ACT MP’. What we want to know, is what her official position as a government minister?

“What this Bill does is make it easier for employers to exploit power imbalances in the workplace and constructively dismiss workers, while making it harder for workers to hold employers responsible. Constructive dismissal is an objectionable practice.

“This approach would only make it easier for employers to lean on workers and push them out.

“There is already a process for employers to engage in mediation with staff. This Bill is not needed to ensure that without prejudice conversations can occur. These occur frequently and play a part in resolving practically all employment issues.

“All workers have the right to good work and should be able to expect to be treated with fairness in the workplace.

“This change would appeal to the worst employers who don’t have any respect for proper process or the rights of employees. We are calling on the Government to clarify their position and vote down this unnecessary and unjust Bill,” said Wagstaff.

Posted on

New report exposes a care sector in crisis – E tū

Source: Etu Union

E tū, the union for care and support workers, is releasing a new report into the state of the care and support industry in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Transforming Care report lays out the many problems in the industry, including in residential aged care, home support, disability support, and mental health and addiction support.

The report tells the story of workers with their own voices, including a series of in-depth personal interviews with E tū members, the results of a survey of care and support workers, and support from various stakeholders across the community.

The report was compiled with the help of Dame Judy McGregor, who as first Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, released the 2012 Caring Counts report, a result of the inquiry into the equal employment opportunity issues in the aged care workforce. Caring Counts was a significant part of the evidence base that lead to the historic equal pay settlement in 2017.

The report will be presented to a government representative by care and support workers, as well as their community supporters.

E tū Assistant National Secretary, Annie Newman, says we have a real crisis in care and support, which needs urgent attention.

“Our report, and our wider Transforming Care campaign, has a focus on three core pillars – the value of care, the standard of care, and the funding of care.

“Workers need to be properly valued, especially through their pay, for their essential work. They need decent conditions to work in, with decent training and the right number of staff to do the work safely. The funding model needs a total overhaul so the interests of carers, those they care for, and their communities are taken into account.

“We know that we can only solve these problems with the input of our whole community, and we are thrilled to have the support of individuals and organisations that share our concerns and are eager to work together for real transformation.”

Posted on

International eyes on Cook Strait Ferry fiasco

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Ferry Taskforce is backing the call for the new Interislander ferries to be publicly-owned and rail-enabled.

ITF Ferry Taskforce Chair Ronny Øksnes is in New Zealand to attend the Maritime Union of New Zealand national conference in Wellington.

Mr Øksnes says any decision to privatise the service or take rail from the Cook Strait would endanger Aotearoa’s economic and climate future. 

“We have seen the impact of privatisation of this kind of lifeline service elsewhere in the world and it has inevitably come at great cost to freight customers and to the public.

“Just as significant is the threat that this would pose to rail in Aotearoa New Zealand. Rail produces 70% fewer emissions than road freight and losing that would make it harder to meet international climate obligations.

“There’s also the added cost and risk to any export company that uses rail as part of its domestic supply chain, as the total carbon content of imported goods is becoming more and more important to international consumers.

“The rest of the world is taking carbon out of their supply chains, so putting more in would be a backward step for Aotearoa New Zealand’s exporters.

ITF Maritime Policy Adviser Sadie Saunders, also in New Zealand this week, says “We understand the New Zealand government is concerned about cost, however transport infrastructure is a long term investment that ensures good jobs and efficient supply chains. These are projects that should be measured across decades and in the context of the whole economy.

“This is why we are supporting our Aotearoa New Zealand affiliate members’ calls for new ferries to be publicly owned and rail enabled.”

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. It represents, and is democratically guided by, 16.5 million transport workers internationally.