Media Releases

Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff today welcomed the opening of a consultation process on changes for employers wanting to hire people on migrant work visas. “We have seen increasingly visible and shocking exploitation of people who have come to New Zealand to work under migrant visas by unscrupulous employers in recent years. Changes… Read more »

Council of Trade Unions (CTU) Economist Bill Rosenberg applauded the new approach to Government Budgets, as described in the Budget Policy Statement this afternoon, for taking into account the wellbeing of working people and their families. “Fiscal responsibility is much more than balancing the financial position of the Government,” he said. “There is no point… Read more »

The Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sam Huggard says that tonight’s passing of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill will be a victory for working people over an expensive lobbying campaign run by big business. “This law allows Kiwis to access their basic rights at work, to make more informed choices about their employment, and help… Read more »

Unions are supporting the call from the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) for the Government to find agreement on safe staffing levels for senior doctors and dentists working in public hospitals. Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sam Huggard said that the chronic issue of understaffing in our public health system can be fixed by… Read more »

Working people are looking forward to fairer employment law passing this side of Christmas says Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff. Mr Wagstaff says that the Employment Relations Amendment Bill will make it easier for working Kiwis to access their rights at work, and restore dignity in our workplaces. “Basic norms of workplace culture,… Read more »

Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff said today that he was disappointed Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service (MERAS) union members in District Health Boards (DHBs) have had to resort to industrial action, and urged for movement from DHBs. “Midwives are critical for the safe entry into the world of our littlest New Zealanders,… Read more »

Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff has called on union members around the country to donate to the lock out fund for FIRST members who have been denied their incomes by Go Bus in the Waikato. “This employer has cynically tried to tank driver’s incomes right before Christmas, because they dared to ask for… Read more »

The Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff today welcomed the long-awaited release of the Pike River re-entry plan as a victory for the Pike River community and families of the men killed working in the mine. “For eight years, while politicians excused, delayed and tried to walk away, these families have never given up… Read more »

Council of Trade Unions Vice President Rachel Mackintosh says New Zealand’s gender pay imbalance can and must be fixed. “Employers discriminate against women from the first day of work to the last, all the way from minimum wage jobs to Chief Executives.That translates into missed opportunities not just for women, but for their children, partners,… Read more »