Category: General

E tū has joined thousands of New Zealanders in making a submission against the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill, warning it would hand unprecedented power to corporations, strip away public protections, and undermine te Tiriti o Waitangi.

E tū President Gadiel Asiata says the legislation poses a serious threat to workers’ rights and equity.

“I believe that the Regulatory Standards Bill risks undermining the rights and safety of all our workers,” Gadiel says.

“This legislation jeopardises the protections that ensure fair treatment and safe working conditions for our communities. We must stand up for our workers’ rights and advocate for policies that respect our cultural values and ensure dignity at work. I cannot support a bill that threatens the well-being and fair treatment of workers who deserve to work in safe and respectful environments.”

E tū’s submission raises serious concerns about the Bill. Originally drafted decades ago and repeatedly rejected, the Bill has now been revived through the ACT-National coalition agreement, despite having no public mandate and only vague wording in the agreement itself.

The union says the Bill would:

• Allow corporations to claim compensation for laws that affect their profits, including public health or environmental regulations
• Redefine “individual rights” to include large companies, giving them more legal power to challenge democratic decisions
• Undermine protections for Māori, with no reference to te Tiriti o Waitangi and no requirement for Māori voices on the regulatory board
• Shift power away from Parliament and into the hands of a Minister-appointed board, with no democratic safeguards

“This is about corporate rights, not human rights,” Gadiel says.

“It risks locking future governments into a framework that prioritises profit over people, and could cost communities and taxpayers dearly.”

E tū is particularly concerned about the impact on Māori, Pasifika, disabled, and low-income whānau. The Bill could restrict targeted support or equity measures by enforcing a rigid standard of “equality before the law,” a standard that ignores the reality of structural disadvantage.

“This Bill could stop us from addressing inequities in health, education, and employment,” Gadiel says.

“It could block future governments from delivering the very support that marginalised communities need to thrive.”

E tū is calling on the Government to listen to the overwhelming opposition and withdraw the Bill.

“There is no public appetite for this. E tū members stand with thousands of others calling for it to be scrapped. We need a Government that strengthens democracy, not one that rewrites the rules to suit big business.”

E tū is condemning the Government’s new employment law proposals as the worst attack on workers’ rights in a generation, warning they will entrench low pay and precarious work across many industries.

The most dangerous change is a rewrite of the law that determines whether a worker is an employee or a contractor. E tū says this would make it harder for exploited workers to challenge unfair contracts and win the rights they are legally entitled to.

“This is a blatant attempt to tilt the playing field even further towards the already powerful,” says E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh.

“It looks like it could have been written by Uber’s lawyers. It threatens the rights of thousands of people in gig work, across industries like courier delivery, cleaning, security, construction, and labour hire.”

Under the current law, workers can challenge their employment status in court. That means if someone is treated like an employee but labelled a contractor – to avoid paying them sick leave and the minimum wage, for example – they can have that arrangement overturned.

E tū and Workers First Union previously used this process to win a landmark court case proving Uber drivers are employees. Rachel warns the proposed changes will slam the door shut on similar cases in future.

“This bill turns the clock back. It gives employers more power to dictate terms, and denies workers a fair shot at justice.”

Rachel says the proposed changes could have devastating consequences for a growing group of vulnerable workers.

“We have members who work regular hours, wear a company uniform, drive a branded van, and answer to a manager – but they’re told they’re not employees, so they miss out on basic rights like holiday pay and protection from unfair dismissal.”

Rachel says the proposal reflects a dangerous ideological agenda.

The bill also attacks other long-standing protections. It removes the right for new workers to automatically be offered union-negotiated terms for their first 30 days. It puts a cap on remedies for personal grievances, meaning even serious mistreatment might attract only a token payout. And it waters down the definition of unjustified dismissal, making it easier for employers to sack workers without proper process.

“These aren’t minor tweaks – they are a systematic dismantling of rights that generations of workers have fought for,” Rachel says.

“E tū will be fighting every step of the way to stop this bill. Every worker deserves a fair go, and the ability to stand up against exploitation when it happens.”

E tū, Aotearoa’s largest private sector union, is condemning Budget 2025 as a direct attack on working people, particularly women in frontline care and community services.

The Government has slashed nearly $13 billion that would have gone to pay equity claims, gutting the mechanism that ensures fair pay for women in undervalued, female-dominated sectors like care and support. These cuts will pay for their Budget which includes tax breaks for businesses.

“This Budget is a theft of wages from women,” says E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh.

“The Government is paying for its corporate handouts by stealing from the pockets of caregivers, teacher aides, and social workers. It’s a cynical, calculated betrayal.”

The pay equity changes, rushed through under urgency, have extinguished 33 active claims and raised the bar so high that future claims may be impossible.

“The Government has made it clear: if you’re a woman in a caring profession, they don’t care about you.”

The Budget also halves the Government’s contribution to KiwiSaver, dropping the maximum from $521 to just $260.72 per year.

“This is a short-sighted move that undermines the retirement security of working people. It’s a massive barrier to building a future where everyone can retire with dignity.”

Public broadcasting has also been targeted, with RNZ facing an $18 million cut over four years.

“At a time when misinformation is rampant, gutting our public broadcaster is a dangerous step backwards. It looks like the Government is afraid of real scrutiny from the fourth estate.”

Other cuts include the full means-testing of the Best Start child payment, tighter welfare rules for young people, and the removal of pay equity funding for community and iwi providers.

“This Budget punishes the people who hold our communities together. It’s not about fiscal responsibility, it’s about ideological cruelty.”

E tū is calling on the Government to reverse these cuts and engage in genuine dialogue with workers, unions, and communities.

“We will not stand by while the Government dismantles the foundations of fairness in Aotearoa. This fight is far from over.”

E tū, New Zealand’s largest private sector union, welcomes the overwhelming defeat of the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill in Parliament yesterday. The bill, which sought to redefine the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, was rejected by 112 votes to 11.​

E tū President Muriel Tunoho expressed immense pride in the union’s active opposition to the bill:​

“I am extremely proud that E tū took a stand and made submissions to oppose the Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill too. Thank you all for playing your part in this incredible fightback.​

“It was right to finally see the bill consigned to the past and into the bin. The results show that this is not us.​

“We don’t need to rewrite or re-define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We just have to live them!”​

E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh highlighted the bill’s potential to undermine the foundational agreement between Māori and the Crown:​

“This bill sought to fundamentally alter the meaning of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by selectively and incorrectly interpreting the reo Māori text. It tried to undermine the separation of powers under the rule of law by using the power of Parliament to change Aotearoa New Zealand’s constitutional foundation, all based on a legal and historical fiction.​

“This bill has done damage. It has given airtime to false and racist ideas.​

“It also galvanised hundreds of thousands of people to stand up – toitū Te Tiriti. More than 90% of the submissions on the bill called for it to be abandoned. E tū and thousands of our members were among the voices in those submissions. The submissions stood up for the truth of Te Tiriti as the foundation on which we can build a society where tāngata whenua and tau iwi take care of each other.​

“Now that Parliament has voted it down, we can start to repair the damage and to build an Aotearoa where we honour Te Tiriti and respect each other.”​

E tū remains committed to upholding the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and advocating for a just and inclusive society.

E tū members will join the wider union movement and our community allies at the ‘Fight Back Together – Maranga Ake’ hui happening nationwide tomorrow, Wednesday 23 October 2024.

E tū is the biggest private sector union in Aotearoa New Zealand, covering a huge variety of workers including in aviation, communications, community support services, manufacturing, food, engineering, infrastructure, extractions, property services, and in many other industries.

E tū National Secretary, Rachel Mackintosh, says E tū members will be out in force.

“The hui are one part of the union movement’s mobilisation in the face of attacks from a shockingly anti-worker coalition Government,” Rachel says.

“The Government has already cancelled Fair Pay Agreements, re-introduced 90-day ‘fire at will’ trials for all workplaces, and increased the minimum wage below the inflation rate – effectively giving Aotearoa’s lowest paid workers a pay cut during a cost-of-living crisis.

“They aren’t stopping there. The Government has plans to remove the rights of workers to challenge their status as contractors, robbing them of an important legal protection. We’re deeply concerned about their proposals to meddle with health and safety legislation. They have deprioritised pay equity. We’re calling on the Government to reverse their dangerous agenda in workplace relations.”

Rachel says E tū members are troubled by the Government’s actions and plans beyond workplace relations as well.

“Luxon’s Government is overseeing a deliberate weakening of our public services, particularly in healthcare. They are stoking upsetting divisions in our society with their attacks on te Tiriti and te ao Māori. They have mucked up our social housing programme and cancelled modern transport solutions. It’s a Government of profits for rich mates ahead of people and the environment. Workers are angry, and they have every reason to be.

“We have a vision for something better for working people in Aotearoa. This can be a place where we have decent work, good social and physical infrastructure to support communities, justice under Te Tiriti, an end to inequality and hope for the future.”

Rachel says tomorrow will be a landmark event for E tū and the wider union movement’s activities to demand better for all, not just for a few.

“This isn’t the start, nor the end, of our campaign to protect workers and our communities from the harms of bad political leadership. However the hui will be a significant milestone, and I am proud that E tū members’ voices will join the chorus tomorrow and beyond.”