Month: May 2024

Tiwai deal a great relief for workers and Southland community

Workers at New Zealand Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai Point are celebrating the company Rio Tinto’s new electricity deal with Meridian Energy, finally securing a longer-term future for the plant.

The 20-year deal ends years of uncertainty about Tiwai Point, which is the largest employer in the Southland region and also supports the local economy by providing many opportunities for businesses in the area.

E tū delegate at Tiwai Point, Curtis Omelvena, says workers are thrilled with the news.

“We finally have job security after five years of constantly being threatened with closure,” Curtis says.

“I was wondering what to do if the place closed down, and I would have most likely left Invercargill and even New Zealand altogether. If it did close, I could imagine a lot of us younger workers leaving the area, leading to a big recession in Invercargill.

“It’s a hugely positive thing for the workers and the wider community in Invercargill, especially as the smelter is working hard to clean up the area.

Curits says the uncertainty has taken a big toll on the workforce.

“The last few years have been very trying on our patience and mental health. Morale will start improving from now.”

E tū National Secretary, Rachel Mackintosh, says the economic impact of this decision for the Southland economy is significant.

“The smelter contributes about $400 million to the Southland economy – it is vital for work and business opportunities in the region,” Rachel says.

“E tū members have been working through the uncertainty as best they can. Our union is committed to a Just Transition through economic changes, which means making sure that workers and local communities don’t bear the full brunt of the everchanging future of work.

“It is a big relief that our members at Tiwai Point, and everyone whose work is connected to the smelter, now have some real certainty about the future. We are looking forward to continuing progress on a collective agreement for E tū members at Tiwai, and with the company’s newly improved position, Tiwai workers should expect some real improvement on wages and conditions as a result of their collective activity.”

TVNZ workers win in Employment Court

E tū members at TVNZ are celebrating another victory today, with the Employment Court upholding the original decision of the Employment Relations Authority, accepting that the company has breached the collective agreement.

In a clear decision, the judge has confirmed that TVNZ broke its own agreement with staff, that it did not act sufficiently when this issue was raised by E tū, and that the collective agreement guarantees members the right to be properly involved in developing change proposals, rather than just responding to them.

To ensure that the collective agreement is now complied with, the Court has issued a compliance order which forces TVNZ to follow its agreement with staff.

“It is deeply embarrassing that TVNZ management need to have a court ordered process to force them to follow their own agreement with staff,” says Michael Wood, E tū Negotiation Specialist.

“In recent months, the company has alienated huge numbers of loyal viewers by axing important and popular current affairs show, done enormous damage to staff morale, and spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal and other costs as a result of a botched employment process.

“TVNZ is a Crown Entity with a statutory requirement to be a good employer, something that the judge commented on. TVNZ has not acted as a good employer and this will likely not be lost on the TVNZ Board and their Minister.

“It is time for TVNZ to seriously engage with their staff and unions to resolve this issue. From the outset, E tū members have been ready to sit down with the company and share their knowledge about how to build a sustainable future for TVNZ, rather than being dictated to.

“TVNZ faces major strategic challenges and with this significant legal loss on their table it is time for TVNZ to finally realise it needs to change course and come to the table with E tū members.

“This win for E tū members shows the value of workers belonging to a union so that they can have a voice during difficult times. We encourage everyone, in the media and beyond, to join their union.”

Union members win ERA case: TVNZ breached collective agreement

E tū members at TVNZ are celebrating a significant win, with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ruling that the company breached their collective agreement in its recent process to dis-establish prominent shows and make large numbers of staff redundant.

The determination agreed with E tū’s position that TVNZ did not comply with Clause 10 of the collective agreement, which requires a high level of staff involvement throughout change processes, an attempt to agree, and meaningful involvement in the development of proposals.

TVNZ members did not get that opportunity. The ERA has now directed that E tū and TVNZ will go to mediation to find a mutually agreeable outcome, and that failing this TVNZ will be directed to comply with the collective agreement. Redundancies will be paused until the matter is resolved.

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Michael Wood, says this is a huge win.

“We are really happy, but not surprised, that the Authority reached the same conclusion as us – that the process was a clear breach of the collective agreement,” Michael says.

“We negotiated for members to have meaningful input into change processes because the workers are the experts, and had TVNZ honoured the collective agreement from the beginning, we may well have reached a much more favourable option for everyone.

“Instead, we’ve had to endure this messy and incomplete consultation process, and the company has already steamed ahead with their plans to cancel our important news and current affairs shows.

“The determination demonstrates that TVNZ management seriously underestimated the extent to which they needed to engage with their employees to find a way forward in these difficult times for the company. They need to engage much more fully – and that requirement is for the benefit of viewers, and the public as a broad stakeholder, as well as for workers at TVNZ. Workers and stakeholders all deserve much better.

“We aren’t going to predetermine the outcome of our mediation, but we are hoping that TVNZ management will finally get the message that they can’t take their workers for granted in these processes.”

PM must commit to pay equity settlement for care and support workers

The unions representing care and support workers are calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to pledge his commitment to deliver pay equity for the lowest paid workers on the frontline of healthcare in aged care, home support, disability support, mental health support. The call comes after today’s announcement of a proposal to disestablish the Pay Equity Taskforce within Te Kawa Mataaho, Public Service Commission.

The three unions – PSA, E and NZNO – say while Aotearoa has persistent gender pay gaps, where women are paid less than they’re worth, it is unthinkable to disband the expert group of people tasked with supporting pay equity.

The pay equity claim for care and support workers is well underway. Their claim simply aims to update the landmark settlement delivered by the National Party in 2017. Thousands of families have waited for almost two years for a desperately needed, and deeply deserved, pay increase.

Tossing out frameworks that guide how we address pay inequity leaves a massive gap in mechanisms for solving this problem. This change will particularly affect community and iwi-based organisations.

We are seriously concerned about a change in funding direction for pay equity claims in funded services.

Everyone deserves fair pay for their work. Pay equity claims for funded public and community services must be fully funded by the Government. If they are not, our communities will continue to suffer from understaffed and overstretched services when we need them. Our whānau deserve better.

Care and support is extremely important work – making sure people take their medications, helping them take showers, changing colostomy bags. Give health support to our older ones at home or in aged residential care homes. They support people through mental ill-health or addiction, and support disabled people to live independently.

Mental health support worker and PSA delegate, Christie Cox, says the decision is disappointing.  

“This is going to make it harder for women to get paid what we’re worth. Our services are already at breaking point,” Christie says.

“We deserve fair pay, which is why we’re calling on the Prime Minister to make the pledge.”

Aged care worker and E tū delegate, Marianne Bishop, says claims will be harder and slower to process without the Pay Equity Taskforce.

“We’ve already struggled for almost two years for our claim to be settled. It’s really frustrating,” Marianne says.

“Women deserve better. That is why we are calling on the Prime Minister for clarity urgently for care and support workers.”

ENDS