Month: September 2018

E tū welcomes High Court ruling on steel dumping

E tū says its support for NZ Steel’s complaint of steel-dumping by China has been vindicated by a High Court ruling directing MBIE to reinvestigate.

NZ Steel claimed Chinese producers of galvanised steel coil were heavily subsidised by the Chinese government and this negatively affected its business.

However, in a decision last year, MBIE said it found little evidence of steel dumping with the government deciding not to impose tariffs on Chinese steel makers.

NZ Steel sought a judicial review of the decision, with the High Court ordering MBIE to reconsider the complaint and quashing the government’s decision.

E tū Industry Coordinator, Joe Gallagher says it was clear at the time that MBIE’s investigation lacked rigour, and the union welcomes the High Court’s decision on the matter.

“Among the key grounds cited by NZ Steel for its judicial review was the paucity of information provided to the investigation by the Chinese government and producers – something that disturbed us at the time, so we feel vindicated by this decision,” says Joe.

“Now, not only will MBIE have to reinvestigate – it will also have to be much more rigorous in scrutinising the level of support for Chinese steel manufacturers by banks and other entities – which it failed to do first time around.”

Joe says the ruling has also upheld NZ Steel’s view that overseas investigations had found the Chinese Government had subsidised steel products, thus providing relevant evidence which MBIE wrongly discounted in its advice to the Minister.

“This is a common-sense ruling which recognises the very poor quality of MBIE’s original inquiry,” says Joe.

“We’ll be keen to see what they come back with next time, given they’ve just been given pretty clear directions on what’s expected.

“For the sake of our steel industry, it’s critical to get it right.”

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Joe Gallagher Industry Coordinator E tū ph. 027 591 0015

E tū welcomes Suffrage Day equal pay bill

E tū has welcomed the introduction to parliament today of the Equal Pay Amendment Bill, which the union believes will ease the way for women pursuing equal pay claims.

Government Ministers, Eugenie Sage and Iain Lees-Galloway announced the new bill at a Suffrage Day petition re-enactment at parliament by union women to mark the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

The Bill preserves the Equal Pay Act 1972, which E tū has always supported.

It also includes the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity Principles but without the hurdles proposed by the last Government, which would have made it very difficult for women to take equal pay cases.

“The previous government reneged on the joint working group recommendations and deliberately set it up to make it harder for women to get equal pay,” says New Zealander of the Year and E tū equal pay pioneer, Kristine Bartlett.

Kristine, who was present at today’s announcement, says it’s the perfect way to mark the suffrage anniversary.

“It’s wonderful!  That’s the great thing about it – it’s happening on this historic day,” Kristine says.

E tū’s Campaign lead organiser, Yvette Taylor says Kate Sheppard believed equal pay was the next great battle after votes for women.

“It’s fantastic to hear about the new legislation on such a special day,” says Yvette.

“We’re pleased that it sets a lower bar for cases to progress, particularly with the parties involved able to set their own comparators.

This resolves two key problems with the previous legislation,” she says.

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Yvette Taylor E tū’s Campaign lead organiser ph. 027 431 8486

 

 

 

Nearly 900 to strike at BlueScope steel mills

E tū members at BlueScope Pacific Steel in Auckland will strike for a second time for 24 hours, from 7am on Wednesday, 19 September in protest over 6 months of stalled pay talks.

The strike affects about 120 members at Pacific Steel’s rolling mill and wire mill.

Also, at 7am on Wednesday, about 750 members from BlueScope’s NZ Steel mill at Glenbrook will strike for 12 hours.

Union members voted to strike over the low-ball pay offers BlueScope has presented to its workers both here and in Australia, where BlueScope members in Port Kembla have begun rolling strike action.

E tū Industry Coordinator, Joe Gallagher says BlueScope refuses to budge on their offer, despite posting a huge profit of AUD$1.6 billion this year.

BlueScope’s New Zealand companies lifted earnings by 80% – the highest return in the business.

“While our Government is committed to lifting wages, internationally employers are coordinating a strategy to hold wages down,” says Joe.

“There is a clear and growing trend of top multi-national companies presenting low pay offers, despite big profits.”

At NZ Steel, workers had a pay rise of just one percent over the past two years and also gave up their bonuses, saving BlueScope millions of dollars.

“Fair’s fair,” says Joe. “It’s time to give back to the workers who took a hit when times were tough. This is hot, dirty and hazardous work and yes, our members get paid for that.

“But this is a dispute about a company that’s delivered an eye-watering profit and thinking it’s ok to offer a mean-spirited pay rise to its highly skilled steel workers. It isn’t.”

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Joe Gallagher Industry Coordinator E tū ph. 027 591 0015

Members will be picketing outside the Pacific Steel mill tomorrow from 7am

Where: James Fletcher Drive, Otahuhu.

 

Second strike at OceaniaGold Waihi mine

Workers at OceaniaGold in Waihi will be on strike again this weekend, as the company continues to refuse a fair deal for the workers.

On Monday, workers at OceanaGold’s underground mine at Waihi voted unanimously for a second 48-hour strike, beginning at 7.15pm on Saturday, which will go ahead now that the company has refused to improve their offer in negotiations today.

The members had rejected a low-ball offer of 2.2 percent during earlier pay talks.

E tū organiser Myles Leeson says that while the workers are keen on resolving the issues, they will remain staunch as they fight for what they deserve.

“We’re hoping for a resolution to this dispute, and that means a realistic pay rise,” Myles says.

“The offer of 2.2 percent is well below what the company can afford, and what the workers are worth.

“The workers know they aren’t getting what they deserve, and they are very committed to continued industrial action while the pay offer remains so poor. Support for this second action has been rock solid.”

Myles says that the workers deserve their earned share of the record profits the company has enjoyed this year.

ENDS

For more info or comment:
Myles Leeson, 027 536 2690

 

E tū reaches settlement with Maori TV

JOINT STATEMENT

Māori Television and E tū have reached a settlement that reflects the expectations of both parties.

Māori Television looks forward to working alongside the E tū union in responding to future challenges and opportunities.

ENDS

For more info and comment:

E tū, Joe Gallagher (027) 5910015

Māori Television, Rick Osborne (021) 889 054

Strike at OceanaGold Waihi mine

Workers at OceanaGold’s Waihi underground mine will walk off the job for 48 hours on Saturday in support of their pay claims.

The 90 members will strike from 7.15pm on Saturday until 7.15pm on Monday.

The strike is the first of a series of planned stoppages over the coming weeks.

OceanaGold has enjoyed a record profit this year, with the company boasting of strong margins and promising greater returns to shareholders.

E tū organiser, Myles Leeson says the Waihi mine is also expanding, with recent surveys revealing a rich vein of gold in a new field – up to seven times the amount that was expected.

“The company’s doing really well, and they’ve got to share that with the workers,” says Myles.

“They need to remember who digs that gold out of the ground for them and reward them with a fair pay rise.”

Myles says members have agreed to a union-initiated roster which reduces their excessive hours which have led to problems with fatigue. However, he says this will mean pay cuts of up to 19 percent.

“They’ve accepted this and are comfortable with it. They’ve been working ridiculous hours to get a decent wage. So, they need a fair pay rate, so they can earn a living without unsafe working hours.”

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Myles Leeson E tū organiser, ph. 027 536 2690

 

 

Statement on detention of TVNZ’s Barbara Dreaver

E tū stands alongside TVNZ Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver who was detained by police in Nauru earlier this week.

Barbara also had her credentials to cover the Pacific Islands Forum revoked. She was released after a few hours and then had her credentials restored.

Her crime? Doing her job as a journalist. Barbara, a longstanding member of our union, has also long been a committed and dedicated journalist bringing the stories of the Pacific to TVNZ’s audiences. She has reported on the region without fear or favour and brought her expertise, understanding and perspective to her reportage.

She was doing the same in Nauru when she was picked up by police for speaking to a refugee held in Australia’s offshore detention centre.

This is a story of huge public interest to audiences across the world and Barbara did not shy away from tackling it even though it has always been clear authorities in both Nauru and Australia are not keen on a light being shone on the issue.

While Barbara was detained by Nauru police, Australia too must take some responsibility for this attack on press freedom.

Barbara’s mistreatment is a timely reminder that within our close neighbourhood press freedoms we might take for granted in New Zealand are not so easily upheld elsewhere.

We stand in solidarity with journalists throughout the region who struggle to report the stories of the Pacific without the fear of facing authoritarian responses to their reportage.

We also welcome comments from New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters and National’s foreign affairs spokesman Todd McClay denouncing Nauru’s action and expressing how important freedom of the press is to democracy.