Category: Politics

E tū President “excited” by new health role

Posted on December 5, 2017 by - Politics

E tū congratulates President, Muriel Tunoho on her appointment to Health Minister, David Clark’s Ministerial Advisory Group.

Muriel will be joining an impressive team of highly experienced health experts including Dr Karen Poutasi, Dr Lester Levy and Professor David Tipene-Leach.

Muriel says the call from the Minister to join the group came as a complete surprise.

“My first question was, ‘Why me?’ But I think it’s because of my extensive experience working in the health sector as well as my work with the unions and workers,” says Muriel.

“That includes a clear understanding of the importance of fairness and equity in our health system.”

Muriel is the National Coordinator of Healthcare Aotearoa, which advocates for iwi and community-based primary health providers, a position she believes also influenced her selection.

“What I’m really excited about is bringing the voices of those who are struggling the most into those discussions.

“With health, there’s always such a focus on health systems and health technologies and I want to put people back at the centre of things.”

Muriel says she’s also impressed with the expertise of other advisory group members.

“I feel in safe hands. As I look at the vast experience they bring and hopefully the additional strengths I can bring, I’m feeling really optimistic and excited about this.”

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Muriel Tunoho President E tū ph. 027 618 5467

E tū calls on Deputy PM to abandon harassment of journalists

Posted on November 29, 2017 by - Communications, Politics

The journalists’ union, E tū is calling on the Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, to abandon his harassment of journalists who reported he had been overpaid New Zealand Superannuation.

Mr Peters has already gone to the High Court demanding Newshub journalist, Lloyd Burr and Newsroom co-editor, Tim Murphy provide their phone records, notes and documents related to the superannuation story which ran during the election campaign.

Newsroom reports he has now also told the High Court in Auckland he wants to be paid monetary damages by the two journalists.

E tū’s journalist representative, Brent Edwards says Mr Peters’ attacks on the journalists could have a chilling effect on New Zealand journalism.

The union is also deeply disturbed to find out that in his statement to the court, Mr Peters labelled Lloyd Burr a “National Party political activist”.

Brent says this attack is reprehensible and similar to attacks on journalists in countries like the Philippines, where press freedom and journalists’ safety is taken much less seriously by the Government there.

“As Foreign Minister, Mr Peters should uphold his obligation to support press freedom and journalists’ safety around the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region,” says Brent.

“If Mr Peters continues to target journalists in New Zealand in an attempt to muzzle them, he does nothing for this country’s reputation abroad as a healthy democracy which values and supports press freedom.”

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Brent Edwards E tū journalist representative ph. 021 970 815.

 

E tū Aviation welcomes new Government’s rejection of low wage economy

Posted on October 26, 2017 by - Aviation, General, Politics

E tū Aviation has welcomed the new Prime Minister’s call for productive relationships between business and workers, and an end to low pay and its negative economic effects.

In her speech to the Council of Trade Unions yesterday, Jacinda Ardern praised the High-Performance Engagement agreement which E tū and other unions have with Air New Zealand.

“That agreement means business and unions sit down together and help each other with their problems and the results speak for themselves,” says E tū’s Head of Aviation, Kelvin Ellis.

“Working together has saved jobs, ensured good pay and conditions and helped transform Air New Zealand into one of the world’s most successful and profitable airlines.

“The new Government has clearly drawn the lesson that working together benefits all parties, and we’re delighted with its support for this model.”

Kelvin has also welcomed Ms Ardern’s rejection of the low-wage approach of many employers which actually erodes productivity.

“Ms Ardern has correctly made the link between an engaged, well-paid workforce and Air New Zealand’s strong financial position.

“We fully support her message on this: that low wages aren’t simply a problem for low-wage workers, they are a problem for businesses and the economy as a whole.”

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Kelvin Ellis Head of E tū Aviation ph. 027 598 5735

 

 

 

E tū ecstatic as we welcome a Labour-led Government

Posted on October 19, 2017 by - Politics

E tū says it is ecstatic after confirmation tonight that E tū member Jacinda Ardern is our next Prime Minister.

E tū is the country’s biggest private sector union, with more than 55,000 members, and is a Labour Party affiliate.

E tū Assistant National Secretary, John Ryall says our members will be celebrating tonight, in expectation of a better deal for working families.

“Our members supported change; they have campaigned for change, and they voted for change and they will be ecstatic about this outcome.

“Our members made a huge commitment to this election campaign, in workplaces, in their communities, and in their families; talking to their workmates, hitting the phones to promote change and pounding the streets getting out the vote.

“Tonight’s vote is a vindication of that effort and the values behind it – a fair deal for working people and a fairer distribution of the country’s wealth.”

John also noted Winston Peters’ acknowledgement that New Zealanders voted for change, and says E tū supports the NZ First leader’s assertion that today “the country has the change it needs”.

E tū also campaigned for the Green Party and John says he is looking forward to learning the details of the agreements between the three parties; Labour, the Green Party, and New Zealand First.

ENDS

For further information, contact:

John Ryall E tū Assistant National Secretary ph. 027 520 1380

At least 61 seats in the House for transformative politics

Posted on September 25, 2017 by - Politics

Even before the Special Votes have been counted, there is a majority in the house for real change in New Zealand politics.

While the election result on Saturday night didn’t deliver an outright majority for a change of Government, a majority of New Zealanders voted against a status quo that has seen the rich get richer while living standards for the rest of us stagnate or decline.

There are many policies and positions that Labour, the Greens, and New Zealand First are proud to fight for. They include:

  • a significant rise in the minimum wage
  • a commitment to pay the Living Wage to workers in all core public services including those employed by contractors
  • the rejection of the National Party’s pay equity bill which would make it harder for women to take equal pay claims
  • 26 weeks paid parental leave
  • better access to education for young people and people who need to retrain in a changing world of work
  • opposition to asset sales
  • making sure that trade agreements do not restrict our sovereignty
  • stopping the exploitation of migrant workers which creates a ‘race to the bottom’ in wages and conditions as a competitive advantage for employers
  • ending the casualisation of our workforce which allows employers to exploit vulnerable workers
  • ending the discriminatory ‘starting out wage’ which allows bosses to underpay young workers even if they have the same responsibilities as others
  • revitalising our regions through proper economic development and improved infrastructure.

We now wait upon New Zealand First leader Winston Peters to decide to move the country forwards, not backwards, for working people and our communities. Mr Peters ran a clear campaign for change and we hope he will honour the voters who put their faith in him to make the right decision for New Zealand.

E tū: National Government’s record on health funding a fail for members

Posted on September 19, 2017 by - Politics, Public and Commercial Services

E tū says it fears health services will deteriorate further in the face of Government denials that DHBs are underfunded.

E tū is the country’s largest private sector union with more than 55,000 members.

“A lot of our members are in the Counties Manukau area, where services have been so under-funded we have the highest rate of people waiting to get eye treatment,” says Jill Ovens, E tū’s Industry Coordinator for Public and Commercial Services.

Jill says unacceptable wait times for urology services in Dunedin are also symptomatic of chronic under-funding of health care.

“Our hospitals are struggling and our members are struggling like everyone else to access basic services,” she says.

“Many members are also on low wages, living in mouldy, unhealthy homes and they and their children have high health needs.”

She says that flows through into increased demand for basic health care.

Jill says she fears wait times will grow longer as the Government insists DHBs live within their means.

“The only way they can do that is by cutting services and that will affect our members who need those services.

“In Southland, they sacked the board two years ago and put in a Commissioner and it hasn’t helped the situation at all. What’s needed is more funding and for that we need a change of Government.”

ENDS

For more information, contact:

Jill Ovens E tū Industry Coordinator, Public and Commercial Services ph.027 446 4966

The Council of Trade Unions estimates $2.3 billion is needed to restore funding for 2017/18 to 2009/10 levels.

However, the CTU says only $0.8 billion was provided so the shortfall compared to 2010 is $1.4 billion.

It means that the next Government will need to find well over $2 billion for 2018/19 if it wishes to restore the value of funding.

Mood of the Smoko Room: Workers back Jacinda

Posted on September 15, 2017 by - Politics

In response to the Mood of the Boardroom earlier this week, E tū is proud to announce a new election tradition – Mood of the Smoko Room.

The E tū National Executive has met in Auckland this week. This is the governing body of our union, comprising democratically-elected representatives from across our eight industries.

They were asked how they feel about the election and the results were unequivocal: working people want a change of Government. 100% of these workplace representatives support a change of Government, with 0% supporting the status quo.

Jacinda Ardern topped the leadership ratings with the group, with an impressive 4.67 average rating out of 5, compared to Bill English’s 0.8 – a dramatic and devastating result for the Prime Minister who hopes to win workers’ votes by talking up his tax cut plan.

By far the most important issues for workers were jobs and wages, followed by housing and health.

E tū President and electrical technician Don Pryde says these kinds of results are to be expected as the current Government has left workers behind for so long.

“Job security is a huge issue, and out of control labour hire is undercutting existing jobs and conditions. National has no positive plans for working people to address these issues,” Don says.

Pai Hiku is a food process worker from Auckland. She reports that wages remain too low across the food industry:

“Decent wages are one of the most important issue facing workers as they cast their votes,” Pai says.

“On food sites, we are still on low wages. Our business makes a lot of profit and we want a Living Wage. If you don’t want to see us sleeping in our cars, give us what we need. That is not a lot.”

Angelique Kerr, executive assistant and E tū’s Central Region Representative, is also ready for change.

“We’ve had nine long years of going backwards,” she says.

“I was in casual work in hospo for years and insecurity is the big issue there. People are working multiple jobs, and secondary tax makes it hard to get ahead. Labour has a plan to get rid of secondary tax. I like that.”

“My dad works three jobs and that’s standard in towns where there isn’t much work.  He lives in a caravan because he can’t even afford to rent.  I worry about him and his future – eventually he is going to have to live in a real house.”

The Mood of the Smoko Room is clear. Working people say: it’s time to change the Government.

The survey:

E tū National Executive members were asked to rate the potential prime ministers out of five:

Jacinda Ardern: 4.67 /5

Bill English: 0.8 /5

The National Executive members were asked if they supported the status quo, or a change:

Supporters of the current Government: 0%
Supporters of a change: 100%

The National Executive members were asked to identify the most important issues:

Issue 1: Jobs and wages
Issue 2: Housing
Issue 3: Health

ENDS

Advanced voting has started!

Posted on September 11, 2017 by - Politics

This election, hundreds of polling booths across the country are open for early voting. If you are already enrolled to vote, you can simply pop along to a polling booth in your electorate and vote right now. You can even vote in an electorate outside of your electorate, you will just have to cast a Special Vote – simply an extra form to fill out.

If you are not yet enrolled to vote, you must enrol before Election Day (you cannot enrol on the day). The easiest thing to do is to head along to a polling booth and enrol and vote at the same time. You can also update your enrolment details this way. You don’t need to bring anything with you to enrol and vote – just turn up!

Click here to view an interactive map of all early voting booths.

Is everyone you know ready to vote?

Click here to download a handy poster you can put up at work (or anywhere) to let people know about enrolling and voting. You can also print out some of the details for early voting booths by visiting the NZCTU website here.

Happy voting!

Authorised by Bill Newson, 7 McGregor St, Rongotai

E tū welcomes Green Party’s pay equity policy

Posted on September 7, 2017 by - Equal pay, Politics

E tū has welcomed the Green Party’s commitment to pay equity for women.

The party’s pay equity policy promises pay equity legislation which includes the recommendations of the Joint Working Group on Pay Equity principles. It would also require greater pay transparency by companies, so people know what men and women in the same workplace are paid.

E tū Industry Coordinator, Jill Ovens says the pay equity policies of both Labour and the Greens recognise the integrity of the court rulings in the case of Kristine Bartlett vs Terranova, as well as the Joint Working Group principles.

“We applaud the fact that this begins to recover the ground that’s been lost under a government which has fought against equal pay,” says Jill.

“In the dying days of the current parliament, the Government introduced a bill that would slam the door on hundreds of thousands of women and their hopes of equal pay. Both Labour and the Greens have promised to put this right, which we absolutely support,” she says.

Jill says the union also supports transparency on pay.

“Knowing what men and women earn quickly reveals any pay gap.  This is essential to ending the traditional gap in pay between men and women doing the same or comparable work.”

E tū Women’s Committee Convenor, Marianne Bishop says under the current bill, care and support workers would have struggled to achieve their historic pay equity settlement.

“I think it’s great because obviously the new bill that National put forward, I don’t feel would have helped us get that settlement,” says Marianne.

“It’s good that parties are all looking at this as an election issue.  People need to remember that when they cast their vote, and vote to support those parties which put forward good pay equity policies.”

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Jill Ovens E tū Industry Coordinator, Public and Commercial, ph. 027 446 4966

Marianne Bishop E tū Women’s Committee Convenor, ph. 021 257 4146.