Wellington Cleaner Mareta Sinoti
Another E tū campaign for better work conditions is in full swing!
Members are meeting with MPs across the country to discuss Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs), the Labour Party policy for national and regional industry-wide bargaining. The idea is to establish fair minimum pay and standards for whole industries, to avoid the ‘race to the bottom’.
In June, the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) launched a report that emphasised the role FPAs could play in making lives better for Kiwi workers. One E tū member who spoke at the launch, Mareta Sinoti, a cleaner at the National Library, explained that the inconsistency of pay across the industry wasn’t fair.
“I think the pay should be the Living Wage. We’re all cleaners but the only people who get the Living Wage are the parliament and council people, even though we all do the same job,” Mareta said.
Our security guards meet with Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway
“And we need more hours because if you get only one job and you’ve got a family, it’s difficult. Some people only get 6 hours – that’s not a full-time job, that’s a part-time job.”
E tū security guard Lavina Kafoa has pointed out that the dangers of working security require agreements that take health and safety seriously.
“You have to manage people and sometimes they don’t like being told what to do. Some people give you a hard time. Some people want to bash me. If they are drunk… it’s scary,” Lavina said.
“I work alone at night. Sometimes I have to beg the company to bring me a radio that works, or to send me someone to relieve me for a toilet break.”
Our security guards have also met with the Minister of Employment Relations Iain Lees-Galloway, to discuss FPAs and outstanding issues in the industry.
Get involved!
If you are a cleaner, security guard, or just anyone interested in FPAs, get in touch by emailing fpa@etu.nz and join our campaign!
