Opinion

Some experiences are a lasting gift that stay with you forever – and this was one of them. I had the utmost privilege of representing the working people of Aotearoa at the International Trade Union School Austria (ITUSA) 2026. ITUSA is a ten-day intensive training programme for young unionists co-run… Read More »From campaigns to courtrooms: Learnings from the International Trade Union School about building workers’ power

The first of April is both April Fools’ Day and the start of the new financial year. In Aotearoa New Zealand, it’s also the time when the support we give to people on low or no wages also changes. Pensions go up in line with wages – delivered under a… Read More »Conflict everywhere, especially here in New Zealand

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

Dr Zoë Port Today marks International Youth Day, and the NZCTU’s youth network Stand Up is calling on the Government to do better by young workers – following the bleak news last week that youth are massively overrepresented in the latest unemployment and underutilisation figures. Last week, the latest data… Read More »Government says ‘do your bit’ – young workers say ‘do better’

10-day intensive in Vienna I have just returned home to Aotearoa from the International Trade Union School (ITUSA) in Vienna, Austria. The programme is run by the International Trade Union Confederation and the ÖGB (Austria’s NZCTU equivalent). It is a 10-day intensive training programme aimed at developing young union leaders… Read More »Coming home from the International Trade Union School

Never have we needed to talk about power to win decent wages more than right now. With an ongoing assault on workers’ rights and conditions — the repeal of Fair Pay Agreements, massive public sector layoffs, the undermining of sick pay, a pitiful and mean-minded increase to the minimum wage… Read More »Power to Win

This week the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi launched an exciting new three-year project, Reimagining Aotearoa Together. The project, which will bring together the union movement and progressive communities to develop and implement an alternative vision for the future, is a response to the continued failure… Read More »Looking beyond the narrow policy confines of the past four decades

First published on stuff.co.nz (26 April 2024) The post-Pike River political consensus on workplace health and safety is dead. This has been evidenced by the slashing of WorkSafe jobs by the outgoing Labour Government, and the further cost cutting plans announced by WorkSafe. To make matters worse, the ACT Workplace Relations and Safety… Read More »Health and safety consensus is dead, and WorkSafe cuts are burying it

As I sit here in New Zealand, safe from the brutality of Myanmar’s military regime, I consider what brought me here. My escape was not a solitary endeavour, but proof to the strength and solidarity fostered by the international union movement. It is through the solid support of organisations like… Read More »Standing Strong with Union Support

The future of Auckland is at a critical point. Right now. Auckland Council is consulting the public on its ten year plan which includes a proposal to privatise the Port of Auckland for a generation. MUNZ opposes this privatisation. So too should all Aucklanders. Privatising the port is an incredibly… Read More »Stop the privatisation of Auckland port

New Zealand prides itself on being a fair and diverse country, but there’s a big problem hiding in plain sight: Pacific women aren’t getting paid as much as they should be. Despite efforts for fairness, Pacific women still face unfair pay in their jobs, showing that there are deeper issues… Read More »Empowering Change: Strategies to Overcome Pay Inequality for Pacific Women in New Zealand

Richard Wagstaff This year, more than ever, unions must stand in solidarity with Māori workers in the fight back against this assault on their rights. The Growing Movement of Māori Unity I have recently had the privilege of being present for two important moments in the growing movement of Māori… Read More »Unions must show solidarity with the fight for Te Tiriti justice

Is there anything more important than water? No. Then why is this government hellbent on adding to the generational problems of water management, without providing any solutions? Over the course of 2023, I met hundreds of amazing workers in the water industry. From technicians to engineers, electricians to administrators, this… Read More »Ko te wai te ora ngā mea katoa. Water is the life giver of all things.

A lack of corporate accountability On 19 November 2010, 29 men went to work and never came home. At 3.44pm, Pike River mine exploded, cutting power and communication into the mine. As people desperately waited for news about their loved ones, further explosions made it clear there would be no… Read More »New Zealand’s shameful record