Month: May 2020

E tū supports Greens’ call for FPAs

Posted on May 6, 2020 by - Politics

E tū, the union for cleaners and security guards, backs the Green Party’s call for Fair Pay Agreements and the Living Wage for contracted workers in the public sector.

COVID-19 has highlighted what cleaners and security guards already know — that their work is essential, hard, and risky, and their low pay means that they barely earn enough to make ends meet.

“Cleaners have been at the front line of defence during COVID-19, keeping other workplaces clean and safe, so essential services can operate,” says E tū Assistant national Secretary Annie Newman.

“As more workers and the public start to go back to their buildings and public spaces, everyone will want to know that everything is clean and sanitised. It will be a cleaner on near-minimum wage that will be doing this vital work. We cannot go back to accepting that low wages for them are good enough.”

Annie says the Living Wage and Fair Pay Agreements are a key part of E tū’s recently launched Rebuild Better campaign, and are exactly the kinds of transformational policies our economy needs as we recover from COVID-19.

“Two of the five key principles in our Rebuild Better campaign are workers’ wages leading the recovery; and, ending inequality. By paying the Living Wage and implementing Fair Pay Agreements, the Government will have a long-term impact on the wellbeing of working people and their communities.

“The Government should play a leadership role as we move out of this crisis and send a message that low wages are no longer acceptable in Aotearoa.  Implementing the Living Wage for its contracted cleaning and security workforces is an urgent and overdue first step. All three parties made a commitment to this at the last election but have so far failed to deliver.

“Fair Pay Agreements, for essential workers like cleaners and security guards will ensure that their work is valued into the future.  A Fair Pay Agreement that will set standards for proper wages and conditions across an industry would mean workers could live a decent life, with secure and safe jobs, no matter what cleaning or security company they work for. It will stop the race to the bottom as a result of the contracting model which has seen cleaners and security guard’s wages and conditions stuck at the bottom of the heap.”

ENDS

For more info and comment:
Annie Newman, 027 204 6340

Aged care review “a slap in the face” for excluded workers

Posted on May 2, 2020 by - Community Support, COVID-19

E tū members in aged care are appalled to learn that the Ministry of Health are charging on with a review into COVID-19 affected aged care facilities without participation from workers, their unions, or people who live in the residential aged care facilities and their families.

The review, quietly announced in a media release on Thursday, will be conducted by public health officials and employer representatives, but no worker, union, or client representatives are on the panel.

Aroha Carney, an aged care worker in Southland, says that workers have already proven to be the important voices in this discussion.

“During the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown, PPE was being rationed in my facility very strictly, purely due to low supply. It was a shock to my colleagues and me as many of us felt we were at such high risk – and putting our families at risk as well,” Aroha says.

“It wasn’t until our union fought for our right to have free an unpoliced access to PPE that we started getting the changes that we need. It shows how important union members are in decision making.

Aroha and her colleagues think that many of the current practices around isolation continue to be sub-standard.

“When new residents arrive, while they may be isolated, the staff that care for them are still going between different residents and so that contact continues. We’ve also encountered problems with new and returning residents wandering around constantly.

These residents haven’t been effectively isolated at all, ultimately putting all other residents and staff at a much higher, unnecessary risk.

“The review needs workers like us properly involved so we can explain these experiences and work with others on the solutions. We’re the experts.”

E tū Director Sam Jones says that E tū has been calling for a proper review since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our members have been blowing the whistle on issues like PPE, staffing levels, and isolation practices throughout the pandemic. We’ve been calling for a proper review the whole time. With such limited scope and representation, this review is far from adequate,” Sam says.

“To keep workers, unions, and residents out of such an important review feels like a slap in the face.”

Sam says that the review will barely scratch the surface.

“This is basically just another form of self-regulation which has proven to not work across industries which will only produce what the providers and DHB’s allow it to. Having an independent resident and worker voice is the only thing that will lead to proper preventative measures to stop further clusters developing in residential aged care ensuring all workers and residents are protected. This is not the time for complacency.”

Sam says that E tū is asking the Ministry for an urgent “please explain” and to make sure there is adequate participation in the review.

“It’s not too late for them to fix this, both to improve the current review and to make sure workers voices are properly heard in any reviews and audits going forward.”

Sam says the issue highlights the importance of E tū’s recently launched Rebuild Better campaign, which outlines a way forward for keeping workers at the heart of the recovery.

“Two of the five key principles in our Rebuild Better campaign are prioritising community health and wellbeing, and workers involved in all decisions. Full worker, union, and client participation in a much wider review is the necessary approach.

ENDS

For more information and comment:
Sam Jones, 027 544 8563
Kirsty McCully, 027 204 6354

NZ Steel plant closure a blow for the Waiuku community

Posted on May 1, 2020 by - Manufacturing and food

NZ Steel’s Pipe and Hollows Plant has told workers that they are undertaking a restructure which could see the end of their jobs at the plant for most workers.

The 60 workers affected would have to be redeployed elsewhere, or face having no job at all.

Delegate Lance Gush, a NZ Steel worker for 14 years, says this would be a blow to their families and the wider the Waiuku community.

“On Tuesday, even under the new Level 3 restrictions, the team embraced returning to work. We were happy to get back to some normality for ourselves and our families.

“We’re a team of 60 with people from five months to forty five years of experience at the plant. We were glad to be back this week, doing work we’re proud of, with assurance from management to push forward.

“By Thursday afternoon, we were confronted with a proposal that shook all of that completely.”

Lance is concerned about the impact the restructure will have on a community already bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis.

“I have workmates with young families, who have already experienced the job loss of one parent. Now with this announcement, they’ve found both Mum and Dad’s employment balancing on a knife edge.”

Lance says that retaining their jobs isn’t just about the workers and their families but also the future of the New Zealand economy.

“There is an opportunity for the Government to invest in the future of our country and stimulate our economy by supporting and utilising our domestic products, resources and workforce.”

E tū Negotiation Specialist Joe Gallagher says there’s much more that we should be doing to support NZ steel and the wider manufacturing industry.

“From pit to port, it’s time to support local steel production,” Joe says.

“We need to be creating a level playing field so that New Zealand isn’t constantly undercut by cheap steel imports.

“We know the long and often distressing history of manufacturing here. Let’s beginning turning it all around.”

Joe says that the Government should take this opportunity to fix the problems in manufacturing, as part of rebuilding better after COVID-19.

“E tū has just launched a new campaign, Rebuild Better, outlining the way forward for New Zealand during and after the global pandemic.

“One of our key principles is the need to keep and create decent jobs. These workers at NZ Steel love their jobs, and they should really be protected by our industry planning.

“We will rebuild better, and we’ll rebuild with New Zealand made steel.”

ENDS

For more information or comment:
Joe Gallagher, 027 591 0015

Our opportunity to Rebuild Better

Posted on May 1, 2020 by - COVID-19, General

Today E tū is launching the Rebuild Better campaign, in response to the COVID-19 crisis and recovery.

E tū National Secretary Bill Newson says it’s all about having workers at the heart of our recovery.

“The COVID-19 crisis has affected every worker in New Zealand. Our country has been lucky in some respects, but big changes lie ahead and E tū is determined we will rebuild better,” Bill says.

“We need a future that’s better for workers, better for the country and better for the next generation.”

The campaign is based on 5 key principles:

  • Prioritise community health and wellbeing
  • Workers’ wages leading the recovery
  • Keep and create decent jobs
  • Union members involved in all decisions
  • End inequality

“The campaign is focused not just on weathering the COVID-19 storm, but also creating a future for workers that’s better than the path we were on before,” Bill says.

“Community health and wellbeing should always be a priority. This means keeping people safe from COVID-19 in the immediate term, but we also need a longer term focus on improving health and wellbeing beyond the crisis.

“Workers’ wages need to lead the recovery. We don’t want any workers out of pocket because of COVID-19. We know that lower waged workers spend more of their hard-earned cash in the local economy than others do, so making sure workers are well paid is part of the necessary economic stimulus – as well as the morally right thing to do.

“We need to keep and create decent jobs. High wage, secure, and safe jobs. Our country should be doing a lot more to advance our manufacturing industries, our high-tech economy, and our green energy sector. There’s no point in a COVID-19 recovery that isn’t both socially and environmentally sustainable.

“Union members are worker experts, so they need to be involved in all decisions. That means representation at the top tables of industry and government. We need to be equal partners in decision making, both because of the expertise that working people have, and to ensure fair outcomes.

“Finally, we remain focussed on ending inequality. Our lowest paid workers simply cannot bear the full brunt of the economic downturn. We’re fighting for things like Fair Pay Agreements, the Living Wage, and social procurement to address these historic injustices.”

Please visit the new website www.rebuildbetter.nz to learn more.

ENDS

For more info or comment:
Bill Newson, 027 538 4246