Media Releases

The Council of Trade Unions welcomes the announcement by the Minister of Finance today to extend the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. The payment will protect jobs for businesses affected by the recent rise in alert levels. Applications to the Wage Subsidy Scheme can be made to the Ministry of Social Development from 1pm Thursday 4… Read more »

The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) and Business New Zealand (BNZ) are issuing a joint statement calling on all workplaces to play their part in ensuring that New Zealand beats the latest COVID outbreak and help minimise risk of future outbreaks. “Workplaces are a crucial element of NZ’s defence against COVID. It’s vital that everyone,… Read more »

The CTU is welcoming the fall in child poverty recorded by Statistics New Zealand and released today. Craig Renney, the Economist and Director of Policy for the CTU comments, “More is needed to deliver the transformational change that the government has talked about.” “The numbers of children living in poverty has decreased in percentage terms… Read more »

The Council of Trades Unions is today reminding everybody that COVID-19 level changes do not suspend employment laws or duties of good faith. CTU President Richard Wagstaff said that we have been through level changes before, and everyone should understand the same rules apply. “As we’ve seen from previous lockdowns, there can be a knee-jerk… Read more »

The Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi welcomes todays announcement from the Prime Minister that the COVID-19 vaccination program will begin in just over a weeks time. CTU President Richard Wagstaff supports the decision for people working on our borders to be at the front of the line for vaccination. “Starting with border workers… Read more »

The Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi welcomes the Government’s introduction of the Local Electoral (Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill as a much needed leveling of the playing field for Māori representation. CTU Vice-President Māori Syd Keepa says the elimination of the current double standard for wards is long overdue. “There’s no… Read more »

The Council of Trade Unions is welcoming the introduction of the new Short-Term Absence Payment (STAP) as part of the COVID-19 response by government. CTU President Richard Wagstaff comments, “This payment is an important provision in supporting working people to take time off from work while awaiting COVID-19 test results.” “The system around this payment… Read more »

The Council of Trade Unions is pleased that employment numbers out today show that the recovery from COVID-19 is continuing. “The number unemployed fell by 10,000 in the December 2020 quarter. Despite this welcome change, the number of people unemployed is still 25,000 (or 21.9%) higher than it was a year ago. The government still… Read more »