By attempting to backtrack on its promise to strengthen New Zealanders’ work rights New Zealand First is letting down the very Kiwi battlers it claims to represent, says the Council of Trade Unions. CTU President Richard Wagstaff says the move would be a betrayal. “We’re incredibly disappointed by New Zealand First’s attempts to duck the… Read more »
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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. First, a comparison of the purchasing power of annual average wages for full-time… Read more »
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Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sam Huggard said today that union members and officials around the country would be turning out to support NZEI Te Riu Roa industrial action to protect quality public education and the teaching profession. “Teachers and principals have been the last line of defence for our education system through a decade… Read more »
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The Council of Trade Unions today congratulated education support workers for achieving pay equity, with the signing of terms of settlement for workers who provide support to young children with additional learning needs. “Today’s settlement is huge affirmation of the work of these women. Their work has been undervalued for a very long time, and… Read more »
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The Council of Trade Unions welcomes the Ministry of Social Development’s statement that helping Tranzit recruit for bus-driving jobs that are under dispute was inappropriate. CTU President Richard Wagstaff says the call, made yesterday, is the right one. “The Ministry’s role should be to get people into decent jobs that can support them and their… Read more »
Read more... An Ombudsman’s report released last week shows our deportation rules aren’t working, especially for eight Indian students who were deported last year, says CTU Vice-president Rachel Mackintosh. The report concluded that our law did allow for deportation of the students because of “fraudulent” paperwork, even when they committed that “fraud” unknowingly and were powerless actors… Read more »
Read more...Ensuring that employment practices are free from gender bias, that pay rates are transparent and that the role of unpaid work is finally recognised, are among new Principles launched today to help workers and employers eliminate the gender pay gap in the state sector. The Gender Pay Principles were launched at an event at Parliament… Read more »
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‘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… Read more »
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Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff today congratulated the Government, the Public Service Association and E tū – and also providers – on a deal that rightly puts mental health and addiction support workers back into the pay equity settlement they were left out of last year. “This is something the new Government committed… Read more »
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Decent jobs for Kiwis who have been trapped in low-wage industries are set to return with Fair Pay Agreements, says Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff. “Generations of New Zealanders had a deal where full time labour meant the security of a home, and being able to feed the kids and hold their heads… Read more »
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