“Be kind to supermarket workers this Easter” is the message to Government from the union representing supermarket staff. “We make this call as the Government considers whether or not supermarkets should be open on Easter Friday and Sunday this year,” said Tali Williams, FIRST Union Secretary for Retail, Finance and Commerce. “The Prime Minister said […]
With the possibility of further relaxation to the criteria of businesses considered ‘essential’ and permitted to operate during the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown, FIRST Union is today providing a checklist of minimum working conditions and entitlements that ought to be met if companies will be attempting to claim ‘essential’ status and remain open, including access to […]
FIRST Union welcomes the announcements made by supermarket chains Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises that workers will receive lockdown pay increases but is cautioning that the details of these promises matter and all essential workers should be earning a living wage at a minimum on a permanent basis, including those working earlier in the supply chain […]
Workers at Cotton On’s Mangere distribution centre, who took strike action outside the company’s Queen Street retail store on Monday 16th September, say it’s time Cotton On management cut the spin and lived up to their own promises of paying a living wage for all staff. Cotton On members have a Collective Agreement covering both […]
Workers in Auckland at Botany, Manukau and Pukekohe have walked offthe job today (23/05/19) over Farmers’ refusal to pay the Living Wage and the company’s faulty performance pay system that keeps wages down. Staff at the Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, North Shore and Timaru stores are taking partial strike actions of a uniform strike with […]
Farmers retail workers have long been subject to an unfair performance pay system and have decided it’s time to grade their employer. They agreed on an F-rating for performance over Farmers’ refusal to pay the Living Wage and the company’s faulty performance pay system that keeps wages down. Workers have voted to take action across the country over the next two weeks to demonstrate […]
The below first appeared at stuff.co.nz 9/04/19 The gap between what the minimum wage and the living wage is closing, and we celebrate that. But despite increases to both wage rates this month there is still a gap. The April 1 minimum wage increase from $16.50 to $17.70 came parallel with the announcement of the new living […]
FIRST Union General Secretary Dennis Maga says the proposed changes of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill reverse much of what has been the erosion of workers’ rights over the last decade and that there’s nothing in the proposed changes that hasn’t been done before in New Zealand. On the Multi-Employer Collective Agreements (MECAs) Mr Maga […]
Pak n Save Whakatane staff will not be at work this afternoon (12/09/2018) as they strike over dismal, minimal pay rates. Around 30 employees will instead be picketing the store from 2:30pm with the strike lasting until 4:30pm. Media are invited to attend; King St, Whakatane 3120. The store pays well below the rates offered […]
The Employment and Manufacturers Association and Business New Zealand have released the annual Mood of the Boardroom survey in association with the New Zealand Herald. FIRST Union is concerned about the lack of statistical rigour in the surveys. The options on the question regarding business opinion on the ERA are geared towards a negative result. […]
