Unions are heartened by the response to a petition to keep Fair Pay Agreements, which has now reached well over 10,000 signatures.
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said it was a sign of how popular the new legislation was amongst workers.
“We are seeing working people standing together to protect FPAs. Workers have been doing it tough during the cost-of-living crisis, and the single most effective protection we have is Fair Pay Agreements.
“FPAs could revolutionise entire industries, lifting pay, conditions, and access to training. We also believe the new laws will stop the brain drain to places like Australia, which have similar systems to FPAs in place.
“This is a game-changer for hundreds of thousands of Kiwi workers.”
The petition milestone was reached after Newshub yesterday revealed that the Government was ignoring the negative impacts of repealing Fair Pay Agreements, and the advice of its own officials. That advice showed the repeal would disproportionately affect already marginalised workers, such women, disabled workers, Māori, and Pasifika.
FPAs have already been initiated in multiple low-paying industries, including bus driving, cleaning, security, hospitality, supermarkets, early childhood education, and port work.
Wagstaff said, “Any Government whose first move is to strip the promise of a better working life away from hundreds of thousands of people is profoundly out of touch.
“They should be listening to the people who would benefit from an FPA, and to the thousands who want to see FPAs protected.”
The petition can be accessed at: https://www.together.org.nz/keep_fair_pay_coming