The Fair Pay Agreements Bill is now the Fair Pay Agreements law! This is a gigantic milestone for E tū, after years of campaigning for this transformational new system for industry-wide bargaining.
E tū members and our allies across the union movement witnessed the Third Reading of the bill in parliament last month. We welcomed the occasion with cheers, tears, hugs, and waiata.
Fair Pay Agreements will set minimum standards for pay and conditions across entire industries, with unions negotiating with employers on behalf of everyone.
Rosey Ngakopu, a Wellington-based security guard and E tū member leader, has already been signing people up for a Fair Pay Agreement in security.
“I’m super excited,” Rosey says. “It’s been a long journey. Now it’s about getting cleaners and security guards to sign on and sign up. Then we can really win the pay and conditions we know we deserve.”
“Fair Pay Agreements are the way of the future, to constructively address the issues between our employers and us. I can see that we really can work together to find better solutions and get rid of the underlying problems we have always faced as workers.”
To initiate a Fair Pay Agreement, unions need to collect signatures from at least 1,000 workers in an industry, or 10% of workers – whichever number is smaller. E tū is focusing on cleaning and security for our first Fair Pay Agreements, as these jobs are some of the worst affected by poor conditions and poverty wages.
“My message to all security guards and cleaners in Aotearoa is don’t wait – sign up for our Fair Pay Agreements today,” Rosey says.
To sign up for a Fair Pay Agreement in cleaning or security, click here!
