Category: Unions

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Failure to manage teacher supply shortchanges young people massively

Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)

The Minister has announced new measures to provide ‘limited authorities to teach’ to encourage unqualified teachers and teachers who no longer hold registration to work as relief teachers in schools.

“She is essentially looking to flood classrooms with unregistered relievers as the teaching shortage bites.

“Very few of these relievers will be across the new requirements for the implementation of level 1 NCEA, or the new English and Maths curriculum or structured literacy delivery. Some teachers without practising certificates won’t have taught for well over three years.

“Principals are already reporting that the constant use of relievers impacts on students’ enjoyment of school, which then impacts on attendance. Having more unqualified and uncertificated people in front of them is not going to help with this. Secondary students need specialist teachers who are grounded in their subject and can challenge and stretch students’ learning and knowledge.”

Chris Abercrombie says the Minister’s response is evidence of a systemic failure to recognise and value teaching and ensure that teachers are retained and new teachers are attracted to the profession.

“Rather than responding to this crisis with a set of ad hoc measures, the Government needs to urgently create a workforce strategy for the teaching workforce.”

Chris Abercrombie says the Government needs to support the teaching profession with adequate resourcing of new NCEA requirements, better wrap around services for students who need them, and improved pay and working conditions for teachers.

“The cold, hard fact of the matter is that there are thousands of highly skilled and experienced former teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand today who would come back to school next week if the salary and conditions were attractive.

“Every young person has a right to a trained and registered specialist teacher in every subject. Denying them that right, because of a failure to ensure a consistent supply of New Zealand trained and qualified secondary teachers, undermines the life choices of our young people and the future of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

He said the Minister also needed to seriously consider the double standard of pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into charter schools – which Treasury advised against – while severely under-funding the public education system, where the vast majority of students and teachers are learning and working.

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Manahau crew being denied access to representation

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Manahau barge grounding at Westport could have led to a disaster, but crew are being prevented from talking to Union representatives. 

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says there are serious questions emerging about the incident.

He says the grounding of the Manahau could have resulted in the loss of life and the loss of the ship if the vessel had come ashore elsewhere on the West Coast.

It was proving very difficult to talk to the Indonesian and Myanmar crew on the Manahau, and the Union was taking legal action, says Mr Findlay.

“Our representatives were blocked from visiting the Manahau by port security acting on the instructions of operator WMS and the company continues to try and prevent crew from accessing representation and support.”

Yesterday evening a Union lawyer and officials had a pre-arranged meeting with crew and the meeting was interrupted by a company representative who drove off with crew members.

“We are extremely concerned about the attitude of WMS, the company who operates the Manahau, and its approach to the rights of crew and legitimate public interest in this debacle.”

Mr Findlay says it appears the situation is being controlled by the private company responsible for the problem in the first place, and authorities needed to step up and assert themselves.

The Maritime Union is affiliated to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) representing over 1 million seafarers in more than 200 seafarers’ unions across 106 countries.

Maritime Union officials are empowered to act as ITF inspectors aboard ships.

“Crew members should have independent support and advice, as the company that put them on this vessel can’t be trusted to do the right thing.”

Mr Findlay says information about the seaworthiness of the Manahau has been forwarded to the Union by several experienced maritime professionals who have had interactions with WMS.

“Some key concerns expressed were the Manahau was underpowered for the rugged West Coast maritime environment, and more suitable for shallow river work.”

Another concern was that a well-informed New Zealand crew with local knowledge and nautical information would not have anchored in Buller Bay during the forecast bad weather.

The 97.53-metre and 3706-GT self-powered barge Manahau had only just come into service in August 2024 carrying mineral sands out of shallow draught port Westport.

Mr Findlay says the Manahau had a foreign crew and the flag state was Niue, despite being supported by coastal shipping funding from the Government. 

He says the Maritime Union supports funding for New Zealand coastal vessels, but in this case taxpayer money had gone towards what appeared to be an inappropriate vessel employing an overseas crew that was not even flagged to New Zealand.

“There were undertakings made by the Government and the company that seafarer jobs would be created, and what we see instead is a cynical exploitation of loopholes and shortcuts.”

“New Zealand needs to build its coastal shipping capacity, and that means New Zealand owned, operated and crewed ships operating at accepted and high quality standards.”

Mr Findlay noted the tragic loss of the collier Kaitawa in May 1966, which sailed out of Westport and travelled up the west coast with coal bound for Portland cement works in Whangarei via the North Cape.

The Kaitawa encountered heavy seas off Cape Reinga and foundered on the Pandora Bank in heavy seas, and sank with loss of all 29 crew.

“The Maritime Union do not want to see a similar situation and we say the Manahau should be removed from service pending full investigation into its suitability.”

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Millions Wasted on Treaty Principles Bill

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Calculations undertaken by the NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi show that the Government will have wasted millions of dollars to take the already failed Treaty Principles Bill forward.

“This Bill is already dead, yet it keeps taking investment away from bigger priorities for New Zealand. Overall, the Bill and its process is estimated to have cost $4.15m. This would pay for around 40 nurses – the same amount that Wairarapa Hospital is currently short,” said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney.
 
“This calculation is based on extremely conservative assumptions. We have assumed very limited engagement with departments, and only a tiny number of departmental staff (12 in total – not all full time) being involved in the direct production of the bill. We have not added in costs for bodies such as the Waitangi Tribunal, the Human Rights Commission, nor Crown Law. There are a range of other costs – such as parliamentary questions and support for the Governor General which have also been left out of this equation.
 
“That creates a cost of around $2m in departmental costs just to bring the bill to the House. National and NZ First have agreed that it will pass at first reading, meaning that it will have a second reading and a 6 month Select Committee process. That, plus the additional work this will mean for departments will likely require an additional $2.1m of expense. Again, this is a very conservative estimate, based upon just the Select Committee staff, holding meetings around Aotearoa, and the cost of 3 hours of parliamentary time.
 
“There are however significant savings that could be made right now to reduce these costs. Hon. David Seymour is not the controlling Minister for any of these departments. They could instead be directed by their controlling Ministers to not spend any further time or resources on this bill. It could then be voted down at the first reading. That would roughly halve the cost of the bill.
 
“Hon. David Seymour is entitled to put bills before the house. That is a perfectly proper thing for him to do in his role as an MP and as a Minister. But that doesn’t mean that he should have the resources of the state to support a process that is already dead. Nothing is preventing Mr. Seymour from talking about his bill or stopping him from exercising his free speech. But to further waste millions of dollars on this vanity exercise at the same time as 7,000 staff are being cut from public services shows a lack of leadership and the wrong priorities.
 
“These costings are likely to be a significant underestimate of the real costs of this process. External counsel is probably being retained to support departments in this work. External consultants will be engaged, and extensive consultation probably undertaken. During the six-month Select Committee process these costs will continue. Then there are the opportunity costs associated with doing work on a bill that has already been defeated. These resources could be used in areas that would deliver actual results for New Zealanders. In effect, this would likely double the impact of the direct spending cost.
 
“There is still time to save some of the costs associated with this failed bill – but only if actors such as the Prime Minister act now. This would not only save money, it would also signal to the public and to possible submitters that they shouldn’t waste their time on this process. Everyone would be financially better off, and it would reduce tensions on a very divisive subject. Hon. Seymour would still be able to progress his right to free speech and to promote his bill. Otherwise, we are likely going to waste the equivalent of feeding 7,205 children a free school meal for a year on a failed project,” said Renney.

Costings

Total Departmental Costs are based on a 31-week process to deliver a bill to the House. This includes Staff from TPK, Te Arawhiti, Treasury, Justice, and DPMC. Ministerial Services Staff and Parliamentary Counsel Office staff have been added to the timetable as appropriate. 12 staff – not all fully employed on this Bill – have been incorporated from the departments. 5 weeks for Parliamentary Counsel Office drafting have been added to the cost.
 
This work comes in two phases. The first phase is the cost of bringing the Bill to the House. This generates an estimated observable cost of around $2m. Then there are costs for the departments of supporting the Select Committee and the Second Reading of the Bill. That adds a further $875,000 of estimated costs.
 
Each department will have its overhead costs associated with the direct staff involved. We don’t have a direct cost for these, but we have taken the figure from the University of Auckland for NZ government research as a guide. This would cover costs such as office, IT, internal legal, HR, and training costs. These have been added, where appropriate, to direct labour costs in departments.
 
Parliamentary time is calculated per hour from the total remuneration costs of MPs. Figures are taken from the last MP pay update and recent reports of the on-costs for each MP. Three hours of parliamentary time has been allotted to this part of the costs (1 hour first reading, 2 hrs second reading), and overhead recovery is then applied. This meets the cost of the building, additional parliamentary staff including security, and the TV/translation services of the House. This generates an estimated cost of $435,000.
 
Finally, the Select Committee will be staffed (three direct staff, plus one independent advisor) for the 6-month process of engagement. It is assumed that the Committee will travel to 10 sites around Aotearoa, engaging with Iwi and others on the Bill. We have not calculated any MP costs in this part, only Committee Staff and travel costs associated with flights, accommodation, and room hire. Overhead recovery is added to the staffing component but not the other costs. This generates an estimated cost of $825,000.
 
Total estimated costs by component:

  • Departmental – $2.89m
  • Parliament – $435,000
  • Select Committee – $825,000

Estimated Total:

Full calculations are available on request.

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NZCTU slams Government for failing mill workers

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is slamming the Government for failing to bring a plan to the table to save around 300 jobs in the Ruapehu district, following the decision of Winstone Pulp International to close the Karioi pulp mill and the Tangiwai sawmill.

“Our hearts go out to all the workers who have lost their jobs, and we stand in solidarity with them at this terribly difficult time,” said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff.
 
“The Government had the power to keep the mill alive by creating a plan for power price stability, but they failed to deliver.
 
“This decision will be devastating for the Ruapehu district who were already dealing with high unemployment and a lack of opportunities. This is the last thing they need.
 
“Government has a responsibility to keep rural communities alive by supporting regional economic development and stepping in to show leadership when critical industries are struggling. Writing off whole communities is simply unacceptable.
 
“Local manufacturing plays an important role in our regional economies and that needs to be protected into the future. It is the role of Government to guarantee this by implementing employment, regional development and Just Transition strategies that prioritise job creation and protection in rural communities.
 
“Everyone deserves good work that is secure and pays well, regardless of where they live. This decision shows we have a long way to go to make that a reality,” said Wagstaff.

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Workers gutted at “tragic” outcome for WPI’s Ruapehu mills – E tū

Source: Etu Union

E tū and FIRST Union members are devastated to learn that Winstone Pulp International (WPI) has confirmed their intention to close the Karioi pulp mill and Tangiwai sawmill despite significant last-minute efforts to keep the mills open and save around 300 jobs in the community.

Jude Sinai, a FIRST Union delegate at the Karioi pulp mill, said workers were gutted, disappointed and let down by the decision to close.

“We were hoping that the Government and wood sector would find a positive outcome and look for a way forward that’s profitable,” said Mr Sinai.

“But they didn’t come to the party and couldn’t put together a long-term strategy to lock in power prices. Whatever was offered wasn’t enough.”

“It’s sad being here today and nostalgic – some of us have been here 20, 30, 40 years. We’ve spent so long at these sites, but the end was really sudden, with only 2 weeks to prepare physically, financially and emotionally for this outcome.”

“But we have a lot of aroha for our community and want to thank everyone who supported us. They’ve been staunchly behind us, and our hearts go out to you.”

“This will have a huge ripple effect across the Ruapehu district – these jobs are a financial backbone for the region.”

“We’re the coaches, we sit on the boards of trustees, we send our kids to the local schools… without the support, it will open up a huge vacuum in the community.”

“There’s disappointment we couldn’t make a go of it, and we want to thank the community for fighting and supporting us through this anxious time,” said Daniel Abernethy, E tū delegate.

“There are some of us that call these communities home, and leaving here is the last option. I never thought the plant was going to close, I considered this to be my retirement job.”

Dennis Maga, FIRST Union General Secretary, said that WPI’s decision to close is a tragedy for workers, families, community, local iwi and hapū, and other businesses in the area.

“The decision to close the doors of the two mills follows the spike in electricity prices during August that led to the company suspending production for over a month,” said Mr Maga.

“The closure shows a Government asleep at the wheel with no care for the destruction that its previous electricity reforms have caused for workers, communities and businesses across the country.”

“As Ruapehu Mayor Kirton put it – what’s the use of Prime Minister Luxon touring Asian countries trying to get more investment into NZ when our broken electricity supply system means existing investors are closing mills and leaving the country?”

“The unions thank Mayor Kirton and other Mayors, opposition parties and Hon Shane Jones for joining the fight to keep the mills open.”

Mr Maga said that the unions will immediately start working with the company, local government and iwi and hapū to put in place a redundancy support programme for mill workers and their families.

“We will be calling on MSD and other government agencies to lift their game and provide the support needed for workers, their families and communities within the district,” said Mr Maga.

“It’s a very sad day for affected workers, and the whole community which relies on decent jobs in the area,” said Rachel Mackintosh, E tū National Secretary.

“I know our members have been heartened by the outpouring of community support – people are deeply concerned about their neighbours and the turbulent time ahead for those who will need to find other work.

“Large workplaces in rural areas are often the backbone of their communities. People living in the Ruapehu district have fought hard to protect the mills’ futures, and many will be devastated by the news today.”

Ms Mackintosh says the closure demonstrates a failure of the Government to step up.

“We need to protect local manufacturing. By leaving the industry so vulnerable to the fluctuations of the energy market, there’s a clear risk that we lose opportunities for well-paid work, and damage Aotearoa’s wider productive economy.”

“Mega profits from the partially privatised gentailers, and the lack of an effective strategy for a clean and secure energy future, are huge factors in the closures today. It’s simply not good enough for the Government to let our local industries fail like this – it’s an abdication of responsibility.”

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Joint statement on proposed changes to oversight of Initial Teacher Education

Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)

Our strong belief is that the oversight of initial teacher education should be “by the profession, for the profession”.  We do not support the proposal from the Minister of Education to move oversight of Initial Teacher Education from the Teaching Council to the Ministry of Education. 

 The Minister already has the ability to communicate her expectations to the Council and appoints members to its governing board.  Direct political control of professional programmes and standards by Ministers through the Ministry would be an over-reach and is tantamount to political interference.   Such Ministerial direction does not occur with the training of lawyers, doctors, nurses or other professions and would be inappropriate for the teaching profession. 

 Moving oversight and approval of initial teacher education programmes to the Ministry of Education would remove it from oversight by an independent statutory body governed by a council jointly elected by teachers and appointed by the Minister — and would therefore reduce partially or wholly both the professional independence and voice of teachers in terms of who determines teacher education standards. 

No evidence has been provided by the Ministry about how it could improve initial teacher education and it has neither the capability, capacity or confidence from the profession to take on this role. 

Removing ITE oversight from the Teaching Council is a significant change, with implications for key stakeholders – particularly the more than 100,000 teachers who pay Council fees, who vote for Council representatives and who have fought for an independent professional body.  

 There are also implications for the Crown’s Te Tiriti obligations to kaiako Māori if this decision is taken without adequate consultation with kaiako Māori and the outcome is a new agency and framework for ITE established without their input.

A short, “targeted” consultation period is therefore rushed and inadequate.

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Kaitaki sentencing underscores need for new ferries

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The sentencing of KiwiRail today for a 2023 incident on the Kaitaki interisland ferry highlights the urgent need for replacement ferries, says the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

KiwiRail was fined $432,500 for a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act brought by industry regulator Maritime New Zealand, following loss of engine power on the Interislander ferry Kaitaki on Saturday 28 January 2023. 

Hundreds of passengers and crew were left adrift on the ferry in severe weather conditions and a ‘May Day’ call was issued as the ferry drifted towards the Wellington coast, before power was restored.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says the failure should never have happened. 

“It’s pretty clear that this is a failure by KiwiRail to do some basic maintenance. They’ve copped that and so they should.

“But you can’t look at this without the bigger picture. This is critical infrastructure that is ageing out and has been underfunded by successive governments for years.

“As far as MUNZ is concerned the last government’s plan to replace this fleet with the iRex project was already coming later than it should have.

“The cancellation of the new ferry deal by Minister of Finance Nicola Willis has put us back to square one at massive expense to the taxpayer. It’s gross negligence.

“The Government must provide a plan and a timeline for safe, publicly owned and rail enabled ferries as soon as possible.

“If they don’t. it should be them standing in the dock if this kind of failure happens again.”

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Maritime Union of New Zealand back struggle of Australian Unions against anti-Union, anti-worker laws

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union of New Zealand has offered its full support to Australian Unions in their struggle against anti-Union laws.

The CFMEU Construction Division was recently placed in administration following unproven allegations of criminal activity and new legislation rushed through the Australian Parliament.

The Maritime Union of Australia is a division of the CFMEU, and is backing a High Court challenge against the Federal Government’s “unjustified, chaotic and reckless decision” to place the CFMEU’s Construction Division into administration.

Mr Findlay says MUNZ agrees with the Maritime Union of Australia that the Federal Government in Australia has effectively robbed construction workers of an effective union.

“Maritime workers on both sides of the Tasman support key democratic principles including the presumption of innocence, natural justice and due process under law.”

“The Maritime Union of New Zealand is federated with the Maritime Union of Australia, and the MUA and the wider CFMEU have our full support in their struggle.”

Mr Findlay says all workers should be aware of the dangers of extreme anti-Union agendas that undermine the hard won rights of workers to organize. 

“This is a disturbing precedent and must be challenged.”

The Maritime Union in Australia and New Zealand have their origins in the Federated Seaman’s Union of Australasia founded in the 1870s.

“Governments come and Governments go, but the Union and the organized working class are here to stay.”

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Ferry fiasco hangs over PM’s South Korea trip

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

Sorting out the mess his Finance Minister has made of the interisland ferries deal should be the key outcome of the Prime Minister’s visit to South Korea, says the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ).

The cancellation of the deal, which has been under negotiation for eight months now, is expected to cost the taxpayer up to a half a billion dollars – a cost that comes on top of another half a billion dollars of sunk costs in the project.

MUNZ National Secretary Carl Findlay says the current state of limbo created by this failure is unacceptable. “It is astounding that more than a half a year after the Finance Minister cancelled this vital project there has been no resolution.

“It is bad enough that the government clearly had no plan B for the only rail-freight service we have on Cook Strait – the fact that we are still waiting for final cancellation or renegotiation of this deal is madness.

“Nicola Willis’ ferry fiasco isn’t just costing us money, it has put the kibosh on the biggest economic deal between South Korea and New Zealand in years, and risks souring relations between our countries. 

Prime Minister Luxon needs to use his much-vaunted international business experience to sit down with the South Koreans and find a way through this expensive fiasco as soon as possible.

“We have to get on with replacing the ferries we have. At best Kiwirail will be able to eke out another five years of service from them; it can take longer than that to design and build new ships. If the government doesn’t settle this cancellation soon, or renegotiate to get Hyundai to build new ferries, we will run out of time.

“That’s a huge and urgent threat to freight customers, our economy, and our international reputation.

“No matter what happens, the reckless decision to cancel the build contract, just days before the steel was to be cut for the hulls, has put New Zealand in a terrible position.

“We need the Prime Minister to call time on the situation, front up on the cost his government has put on us and work to get a contract struck for publicly owned, rail-enabled ferries immediately. 

The foolish decision to cancel a project that was more than six years in the making has cost us too much already.”

MUNZ is New Zealand’s largest Maritime union and is affiliated with more than 200 maritime unions internationally.

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Government cuts to pay parity don’t help children

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Government cuts to pay parity for some early childhood teachers shows the Government isn’t listening to the workers in the sector, said CTU Vice President Rachel Mackintosh.

“All teachers deserve to be paid fairly. We have a shortage of qualified early childhood staff in Aotearoa and are already losing teachers overseas. Reducing pay and conditions for relief teachers won’t make that problem any better,” said Mackintosh.

“With the sector in crisis, the last thing we need is the Government adding more fuel to that fire. The early childhood education sector already has poor teacher-child ratios, an over-burdened workforce, and difficulties in securing learning support for children who need it. Qualified and experienced relief teachers play an essential role in the sector, and reducing their pay won’t help address any of these issues.

“This is just another step in devaluing teachers by this Government. After years of hard work by teaching staff and whānau to get pay parity for this workforce, repealing a key section of it shows that they don’t understand the sector. The only beneficiaries of this decision are agencies providing teaching staff who will make more profit, and for-profit ECE centres that will use it to reduce their costs. It’s putting profit before education.

“Our concern is that this is just the start of a campaign against workers, whānau and tamariki by prioritising the wish lists of employers and business as we are seeing in proposed reforms to health and safety and employment legislation.

“The Government must prioritise listening to early childhood teachers and parents who want better and higher quality ECE services with qualified teachers. That means teachers need to be paid well. Taking pay parity away make it worse,” said Mackintosh.