E tū members at Rio Tinto’s New Zealand Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai Point, Southland, will take industrial action on 4, 6, 8, and 10 May, after more than two and a half years of bargaining without reaching a fair collective agreement.
Workers say the dispute is about wages and conditions, and about the basic right of working people to organise and bargain collectively. They have kept the smelter operating through uncertainty, rising costs, and drawn-out negotiations, and say they have come to the table willing to compromise. Rio Tinto, they say, has not shown the same willingness to settle.
The company has also secured the long-term future of Tiwai Point through electricity arrangements running until at least 2044.
Tiwai production worker and E tū delegate Dee says workers are not asking for anything excessive.
“We’re not being unreasonable. What we want is decent work,” Dee says.
“We want an agreement that recognises the job we do, the conditions we work under, and the contribution we make. People have been patient for a long time, but patience has limits.
“No one takes industrial action lightly. After more than two and a half years, workers need to see real movement from the company. This is about standing together and saying our work has value.”
E tū Director Mat Danaher says Rio Tinto cannot keep stringing its workforce along.
“Rio Tinto needs to understand this is not a workforce it can take for granted,” Mat says.
“This is a hugely profitable global company. It reported underlying EBITDA of US$25.4 billion and profit after tax of US$10 billion for 2025, and announced ordinary dividends of US$6.5 billion. The workers who keep Tiwai running deserve a fair share of that success.
“Industrial action is always a last resort. When workers have bargained for more than two and a half years and still do not have a fair deal, the responsibility sits with the employer. Rio Tinto should respect collective bargaining and settle.”