Aotearoa's Opportunity

This is the last episode of Aotearoa’s Opportunity and in it we document the final days of the Fair Pay Agreements Act including a petition of 15,000 signatures being presented to parliament; calling on the government to reconsider the repeal of the legislation, heated debates from parliament and the Stand up for Fair Pay Protest on the parliamentary lawn.
 
This episode and series acts as an archival piece to document this period of time for the Workers Movement in Aotearoa and it is dedicated to all of the workers who will be directly impacted by the removal of Fair Pay Agreements.

On Episode 9 of Aotearoa’s Opportunity Ben Peterson the national FPA Co-ordinator has a discussion reflecting on the campaign to get Fair Pay Agreements across the line with with FPA Support Organisers Una & Oliver. 
 
 This conversation touches on some of the work that has been going on behind the scenes, the obstacles faced along the way, lessons learned and some indications on a path forward for securing a future for FPAs in the long term.
 

On Episode 8 of AOP we talk with Marianne Bishop about Pay Equity and the Aged Care & Support Work Industry. We discuss the the work which has been historically  done by women being undervalued and underpaid due to it being considered "women's work." Today this causes industries that are predominantly populated by women to have significant less pay and poorer working conditions compared to similar male dominated industries.  

To address this issue we discuss the historic pay equity settlement of 2017, the new joint pay equity claim on behalf of care and support workers and the importance of sector wide bargaining approaches for improving working industries. 

To help support the current pay equity claim on behalf of care and support workers sign the open letter here: 
https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/open-letter-fund-pay-equity-for-care-and-support-workers-now

On episode 7, Grace Miller a historian and union activist discusses the history of labour and industrial relations within Aotearoa. We discuss how Fair Pay Agreements came about and how this kind of sector wide bargaining is common internationally and existed in New Zealand up until the early 90s. 

Grace also gives some really interesting context talking about unionisation as a tool for creating transformational change while giving some poignant examples from our history in relation to pay equity, the creation of Waitangi Day as a public holiday, the situation at Bastion Point, LGBTQ rights and more.

On Episode 6 Lisa and Louise discuss the importance of early childhood education for Aotearoa. By setting up our children properly at the start of their lives with quality education we are investing in our societies future and it will pay off great dividends in the years to come.

Currently however there are significant challenges that teachers face especially in relation to pay, non contact time, short staffing and the ministry set ratio of 5 children to 1 teacher. As well as this Lisa & Louise discuss the impact that being a part of NZEI has had on them and the  opportunity of the ECE Fair Pay Agreement to help address these issues. 

On this Episode we discuss the aspirations of the Hospitality Industry 
Fair Pay Agreement with John Crocker the National Secretary of Unite Union. This is the biggest Fair Pay Agreement covering up to 150,000 workers across the country. 

John reflects on some of his personal experiences within the industry and the impact that becoming involved with the union had on his life, some of the significant wins of the union over the years and the positive impact that unionisation can allow for workers to set their own work culture.

If you are in a un-unionised hospitality workplace and would like to inquire about getting assistance in unionising your workplace then you can contact Unite union. 
https://www.unite.org.nz/

On todays episode Ben Peterson will be giving a brief recap on the podcast so far.  He discusses the exciting Bus Fair Pay Agreement, of which thousands of bus drivers have been participating with across the country. A discussion is also held as to the status of FPAs that have been approved and are progressing for workers in supermarkets, hospitality, cleaning, security and early childhood education.

If you're working in a Fair Pay Agreement industry or if your industry isn't covered by a Fair Pay Agreement yet but you think it might be in the future and you'd like some more information and some resources to help you talk about Fair pay agreements.

Then fill out the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/83LJCWM

On this episode Melissa Ansell-Bridges interviews NZCTU Economist, Craig Renney about the implications of Fair Pay Agreements for the New Zealand economy.

Craig explains how Fair Pay Agreements can help to build an economy that works better for working people and by extension New Zealand's society as whole, while also addressing some of the common misconceptions about Fair Pay Agreements.

The Security Industry is beset by problems relating to low pay, health and safety, a lack of training and education and job insecurity. 

On todays episode Jayson Ormsby a Union Organiser with 5 years experience working within the security industry will share with us his perspective and experiences. He will explain industry level problems and his personal aspirations for how Fair Pay Agreements could be used to help address some of these problems.

Episode 2: What are Fair Pay Agreements

To create a better world of work, it's something we need to do together and in today's episode, we will discuss a HUGE opportunity. Fair Pay Agreements are a massive opportunity for workers to fundamentally redefine work in New Zealand.

Fair Pay Agreements are a new mechanism for workers to get together across industries or occupations and set the minimum standards for their work. Through the process of Fair Pay Agreements, workers and employers can come together democratically to agree on whats fair for their industry. This way we can stop bad practices and poor pay undermining good work for everyone. In the process we can start to change work in New Zealand and challenge low pay, long hours or unsafe work.

Fair Pay Agreements are new, so its important every workers gets an understanding on what they can mean for them and their workplace.

In todays episode, Melissa Ansell-Bridges talks to Richard Wagstaff, the president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi about Fair Pay Agreements, how working people won them, what they mean and how we can make them work for Aotearoa.