Workers First Union

Buying groceries in NZ = less NZ jobs!?

This is the last weekend to tell Woolworths that moving 130 customer care centre jobs to Oz is BAD FOR BUSINESS:
[email protected]

Woolworths (the Australian-owned half of Aotearoa New Zealand's supermarket duopoly, who made $163 million in NZ earnings (EBIT) last year, up 8.8% on the year before) will announce their final decision on 29 September, as to whether they will close their NZ-based contact centre. This would vanish about 130 New Zealand jobs (mainly held by working mothers, who provide fantastic nation-wide support) in favour of Australian positions.

Are you tired of Aotearoa New Zealand’s politics being dominated by racism and xenophobia?

Cynical politicians like David Seymour and Winston Peters make our country a worse place to live for tangata whenua and the million migrants who choose to make it their home.

We’re sick of it, and we’re fighting back.
SAVE THE DATE: October 17!

Here’s the mission statement and members of our new coalition, All Workers United – stay tuned for more.

MISSION STATEMENT:
All Workers United Against Racism and Xenophobia is a coalition of unions, migrant groups and community organisations making a stand against racism and xenophobia in Aotearoa.

We believe our country is at its strongest when Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, and migrant groups stand together.

Fundamental rights should not be removed from any group based on their ethnicity, nor should any group be discriminated against because of their country of origin.
Both NZ First and ACT, in governing with the National Party, have used racism and xenophobia to divide workers and communities through attempts to sabotage Te Tiriti o Waitangi and attacks on members of our migrant communities.

We will be marching peacefully on October 17 to protest this racist scapegoating and call on all those who want our elections to be about the issues that matter rather than the racist agenda of NZ First and ACT.

Join us!

PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS:
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi | Te Rūnanga o ngā Kaimahi Māori o Aotearoa | NZCTU Komiti Pasefika | Workers First Union | Public Service Association | E tū | Unite Union | Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand | Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa | Rail & Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) | Pasefika Fono – Workers First | Migrant Workers Association of Aotearoa | Migrante Aotearoa | Runanga – Workers First | United Filipino Bus Drivers in New Zealand | Union Network of Migrants NZ | Filipino Care Workers United | Migrant Rights Network NZ | Love Aotearoa Hate Racism | International Migrants Alliance - IMA | Migrant Action Trust

While everyone is talking about the damaging supermarket duopoly in New Zealand, Woolworths is brazenly considering axing 130 NZ jobs. NOT because the work isn't needed. But to outsource it to Australia.

This week is your last chance to tell Woolworths that you value New Zealand jobs: [email protected] 👈

In our submission we told Woolworths:

- The people matter.
Most Customer Care Centre roles are held by working mothers, many of them sole parents. They took the job specifically for the secure remote/work-from-home terms, and many relocated out of cities on that basis. Redeployment options in their regions are limited to non-existent.

- Offshoring hurts NZ consumers.
Australia-based Business Continuity Plan staff have been answering NZ customer calls in recent weeks as a stopgap. NZ staff have already reported a spike in
complaints about the service quality for New Zealanders - a sneak preview of how our customer service will be degraded in future?

- Woolworths is profitable. Woolworths is not struggling.
Woolworths posted $163 million in NZ earnings (EBIT) last year, up 8.8% on the year before. Woolworths has said that cutting these New Zealand jobs will save them just $4.1 million - and we have to take their word for that, they haven't shared the data.

"Woolworths is a profitable company moving good jobs out of New Zealand while it posts record earnings. These are 130 local workers who know Woolworths' stores, systems and customers better than anyone in Australia hired to replace them. There are ways to save money here that don't involve sending the work overseas, and we've outlined them clearly to Woolworths. It's on the company to take them up." - Rudd Hughes, Workers First Deputy Secretary

Please, tell Woolworths that New Zealand shoppers don't want to be financing more jobs going overseas. Email your concerns to: [email protected]

We've been clear for a long time about what working people need to be safe at work, and we’re glad Labour have listened.

This commitment is thanks to the tireless advocacy of the families who have lost loved ones at work, and to union members who have refused to let those deaths be forgotten.

🔗 Full release in the comments.

Management may own the workplace but it’s workers who do the mahi. At the heart of our union of over 33,000 workers are over 1,860 elected union delegates, who organise and lead union members on the job!

Delegates are active union members who collectively recruit more members and raise the mana of the union. They work with members to solve workplace problems, and during negotiation for a Collective Agreement, delegates are at the forefront of bargaining. More experienced union delegates can also support union members in one-on-one meetings with management. Union delegates are recognised in law and have statutory rights to protect their position at work.

Workers First Union’s delegates are trained and given resources to help them develop their abilities. All delegates are eligible for two-day paid union training. But most of the learning for being a delegate is done on the job and over time. A new delegate takes on more responsibilities as they learn and grow. The union’s delegate training happens region by region, with some delegates staying overnight in the main centres where they connect with delegates from other workplaces.

Union organisers work with delegates and members, listening to what they think union members need and passing on core union thinking and skills. In fact, many union staff started out as active delegates. They turned their workplace activism into a full-time union career.

Workers First delegates are the backbone of the union. They sit on our internal union councils and committees, attend and vote at the biennial union conference, and the union’s National Executive is a group of elected union delegates. Delegates sometimes speak at public meetings, at parliamentary select committee meetings, in the news media and on social media. They make sure workers’ voices are being heard and can influence policies and laws.

If you want to step up to be a Union delegate, talk to your co-workers and current delegates. Once you have decided what you would like to achieve, and have some workplace support, talk to your union organiser.

Pictured: Just some of our sensational delegates taking part in a delegate training session, September 2026

Community STRONG!

Wonderful people from union, faith and community organisations at the Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand alliance 2026.

Earlier this month, at the Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand alliance, the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and the New Zealand Labour Party made commitments to support the Living Wage in schools, hospitals and government departments, setting the standard for the country to follow.

A standard where our people thrive, instead of struggling more and more as costs keep rising faster than wages.

Absent: ACT, National, NZ First.

The Living Wage is now $29.90 per hour.

The Living Wage is calculated using the latest data and is the income necessary to enable workers and their families to live with dignity, afford the basic essentials and participate as active citizens in society. The current Living Wage rate applies from 1 September 2026 - 31 August 2027, at which point the rate is re-calculated.

If you are not earning a Living Wage, you can:

- Join your union (union members achieve higher wages!)
- Tell your colleagues about their union.
- Vote in a Government that supports the Living Wage.
- Support the amazing businesses that are Living Wage certified!

The Living Wage Movement emerged in Aotearoa in 2011 as a response to poverty wages and is good for our collective wellbeing and economy.

Find a list of Living Wage businesses on the Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand website or watch out for the Living Wage Employer symbol. Labour and the Greens have made pledges to support the Living Wage, if elected, at this year's Living Wage alliance.

10,000 public servants are taking action today for pay that keeps up with the cost of living.

EVERYONE deserves to live in dignity and be able to provide for themselves and their families. Workers first members stand in solidarity with Public Service Association workers!

Workers First stop work meetings have been running across the country - these are where union members come together to have their say, learn from one another, and help shape the direction of our collective efforts.

A big thank you to everyone who has attended and contributed! When workers stand together, we are stronger.