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This year’s election is an important one for you and all Kiwi workers. It will decide what sort of change New Zealand workers can expect over the next few years.

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The Council of Trade Unions election campaign is focused on three core issues: work rights, strong public services and higher wages. The CTU wants to know where all political parties stand on all three. More importantly, we want to know what they plan to do about them in the future.

Make sure you are enrolled to vote. Click on the enrol link to the right to check your details.

Whats New?
Here's three things you can do to keep up to date on the campaign

Subscribe to The Unionist - the CTU's weekly union newsletter - click here [3].  Comes out on a Friday. 
 
Join the 'Fairness at Work Plays of the Week' update list - enter your details on the panel at the right hand side of the page.  Comes out each Monday morning.
   
Check out some election year sites from other Kiwi unions - links on the left side of the page. 

Hot Topics

ACC: Your rights to health and safety at work - Election 2008 page on ACC [4]

POLICIES: What are the parties saying? Not a lot of policy is out yet - but visit these pages on the PSA Election site [5], [6] the EPMU Work Rights site [7], the Association of University Staff [8] (PDF) and this page from the primary teachers' union NZEI [9] for some policy out already.

WORK RIGHTS:

• Ain’t no sunshine for workers in National’s employment policy [10] - July 24 2008.  “Cuts in workers’ rights and entitlements and privatisation are all this party has to offer to date.  The threats to workers rights hinted at in today’s release just add to their policy to privatise ACC, allow 90 days of unfairness at work, remove free early childhood education and threaten KiwiSaver contributions.” See also: CTU Critique - National's 2008 Employment Policy [11]. Other views: Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union [12] -- Bank workers’ union Finsec [13] --  Public Service Assocation [14] --  National Distribution Union [15] -- NZ Educational Institute [16]
• EPMU Work Rights Checklist [17]. At the heart of working life are the rights and laws that set down the rules of what we can and cannot do at work, what the boss can and cannot do, and what our minimum entitlements are.  Click here for more [18].
• Will The Real Policy Please Stand Up? [19]
• Work rights getting better for casuals [20]
• Whats at stake [21]

CAMPAIGN LAUNCH: info-sheets, speeches and links to media stories from the campaign launch in October last year - click here [22].