Opinion

There will be those who read that headline and scratch their heads and wonder, what does resolving Pay Equity have to do with Disability Rights? Some will say that Disability Rights is all about realising the Rights that are within the UN Convention, and that is correct. But I want… Read More »Resolving Pay Equity for Care and Support workers is a Disability Rights issue

A.C.T is an acronym. It stands for the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers. Why then are they doing Ubers bidding when they (Uber) are neither a consumer nor a taxpayer? I keep looking for the puppeteer’s strings, or the mouth moving on the ventriloquist’s dummy whenever the Minister for Workplace… Read More »Workers First Union 3: Uber 1 

This Waitangi Day, a delegation of NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi leadership and Te Rūnanga o ngā Kaimahi Māori o Aotearoa members travelled up North to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds to share korero with workers from all across the motu. NZCTU Vice President Māori Aubrey Wilkinson attended, along with CTU President… Read More »Kotahitanga in action | Unions at Waitangi

Aotearoa New Zealand is way off track according to workers who took part in the CTU’s Mood of the Workforce Survey. Off track because we see the super-rich getting even richer while basics like healthy food and a roof over your head are becoming harder to afford for most workers.[1]… Read More »Back on Track? Not according to workers.

Thank you for inviting me to join you today. I want to use this time to get to know each other. I want this time with you to be a moment where we talk about our vision for a better Aotearoa. And I want to use this time talk about… Read More »NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey Speech to the Labour Conference 2025

Dr Sandra Grey was elected as NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President in October 2025. The power and energy of the union movement has been on full display in the last month. 100,000 workers striking, the CTU biennial hui, iwi, hapū and workers standing side-by-side in Rā Whakamana, the firefighters’ strikes,… Read More »We are over it, and up for it

This statement was originally published by The Post The strikes planned by several unions on October 23 represent the biggest day of industrial action in decades. More than a hundred thousand union members spread across many occupations have voted to send a message that they expect their employers to respond… Read More »Richard Wagstaff’s response to the Government on nationwide strikes

On July 4 and 5, NZCTU Women’s Council welcomed over 120 wāhine toa at the biennial Women’s Conference “Women Rise Up” at the Lower Hutt Event Centre. The programme was designed around “anger, hope, action.” We wanted members to leave feeling connected, well-equipped and confident to organise and use our… Read More »Women Rise Up: 2025 Women’s Council Conference

It seemed like a particularly poignant year to be at Waitangi for the annual celebrations. After 15 months of mask-off attacks against Māori through various bills, policy shifts and attempts to undermine te reo and tikanga Māori, I expected to find warranted anger. Yes, there was some of that, but… Read More »Standing Strong at Waitangi

Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood… Read More »The Real State of the Nation: Fear, Anger, and a Demand for Change

As we approach 2025, we find ourselves navigating challenging and uncertain times. The global political stage has shifted dramatically, with Trump’s re-election in the US intensifying international instability, environmental inaction, and the rise of far-right movements. Meanwhile, global conflicts are escalating, pressuring governments, economies, and working people worldwide. Here in… Read More »Unity for 2025

Next month will mark 52 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed in Aotearoa New Zealand. For over a hundred years, unions have continued to work tirelessly in the pay equity space. Sometimes this work feels impossibly lofty – after more than half a century it’s clear to many… Read More »Equal Pay, Equal Rights: Fighting for Pay Equity in Aotearoa

Richard Wagstaff There is no place for migrant worker exploitation in a decent society, and yet in Aotearoa New Zealand many migrant workers continue to contend with low wages, exploitation, and abuse. This week the Human Rights Commission released a review of the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme, which… Read More »Aotearoa’s Moral Failure on Migrant Worker Rights