Workers First Union

ACT couldn't have dismantled Kiwi workers' rights without the support of NZ First.
ACT couldn't have sold us out to overseas mega-corporations without the support of NZ First.
ACT couldn't have set back Kiwi women a decade without the support of NZ First.

A vote for NZ First is a vote for ACT.

Workers First Northland members are shocked and disappointed following this morning's announcement that one of two of Northland’s Juken New Zealand mills has failed to find a buyer and is proposed for closure.

"We’re disappointed that no buyer has been found for Northland Mill but there is still a window for central Government to step up and push for a solution. Now is the time for a localised solution to save our manufacturing industry and our skilled woodworkers." - Marcus Coverdale, Workers First Organiser

JNL’s second mill - the Triboard Mill - appears to have found a buyer, or at least, was not proposed for closure following this morning’s meeting.

"In terms of sustainability, between the two mills, the full log is used. The top of a log is refined for the tri-board product, and the middle for veneers and mulch. Without a buyer found for the Northland Mill, we’ll be taking the top of the log for tri-board and sending the other raw two-thirds overseas without any value added.", said Marcus Coverdale.

The Northland Mill employs around 60 people, with 40 Workers First members who have redundancy provisions and may be able to access redeployment or other options.

The potential closure of Northland Mill would be the seventh major wood processing site lost under the current National-NZ First-ACT Government.

Bargaining approaches... Woolworths members, assemble!

Some of our amazing Woolworths members and team from across the motu 🔥

The new Green Party policy, launched on the weekend, knocked our socks off. Sensible. Achievable. For example, the policy:

- Cuts income tax for 96% of people,
- Creates a new tax-free threshold of $10,000,
- Removes corporate tax cuts for huge corporations,
- Retains lower corporate tax rates for small and medium businesses,
- Taxes assets and gifts over $1 million, with family farms and family homes exempted, and
- Ensures companies shifting profits offshore pay their fair share.

"The super-rich pay $9 tax out of every $100 they make, but a teacher pays $22 out of every $100 they earn." - It's time for change. It's time for common sense policies, policies that will never be implemented by parties that are in the pockets of foreign shareholders and their lobby groups. We CAN do it.

Check out the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand tax policy: Greens.org.nz/tax_system_for_all

Workers First Union is not affiliated to any political parties. We are a union of Aotearoa workers, coming together to achieve a brighter future for ourselves and our friends and whānau - and we advocate for progressive policy and government that's for the people!

Aotearoa is lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to workers' rights - and it's on purpose. Kiwi workers lose. Who gains?

Key protections in the Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy*, that was formally adopted following the 2026 International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, include:
- The right to organise and bargain collectively
- Health and safety protections, including the right to for platform workers to remove themselves from dangerous situations
- Protection from violence and harassment
- Data protection and privacy rights, including the right to access correct and erase personal data
- Transparency around algorithmic decisions, including written explanations
- Human review of suspensions and account deactivations
- Fair pay, including compensation for work-related costs
- Protection from unlawful suspension or deactivation
- Access to dispute resolution and remedies

That all sounds like common sense, right? So why was New Zealand one of the few to vote against it?

It's actually not very surprising, considering that our Government recently changed Aotearoa law, based on drafts by Uber**, to explicitly ensure that our platform workers have no recourse to challenge their employment status... something that the Convention covers:
"Crucially, governments must also ensure platform workers are correctly classified – guided by the facts of how work is performed and paid, not the label a company chooses to apply. This is a direct answer to the misclassification trap that has shut millions of workers out of their rights."

Kiwi workers lose. Who gains?

Thank you to the ITF - International Transport Workers' Federation for providing an excellent summary of the convention. Read more at: itfglobal.org/en/news/historic-victory-platform-workers-ilo-adopts-worlds-first-convention-platform-work

*'Platform Economy' refers to "gig" work, like driving for Uber (though it's important to note that Aotearoa courts ruled that the control that Uber exerts over its drivers means that they are actually in an employer-employee relationship).
**lawnews.nz/employment/minister-adopts-ubers-wish-list-when-drafting-employment-law-changes-rejects-official-advice/

The next attack on workers is here: The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill.

Read more and sign the open letter: www.together.org.nz/not_one_more_health_and_safety

That Bill, as it stands, opens the door to:
- Reduced protections for workers in small businesses;
- Deprioritising serious hazards, and;
- Leaves many workers without a meaningful voice in their own safety.

Health and safety professionals, employer groups, and worker representatives have all raised the alarm. Even ACC have warned this Bill will lead to more harm.

When twenty-nine miners died at Pike River, New Zealand made a promise. We said, “never again”. We said, “every worker deserves to come home safe”. That commitment belongs to all of us. Minister Brooke van Velden's Bill will undo that commitment.

This open letter to all Members of Parliament asks them to look at the evidence, hear the warnings, and come together to refuse the passing of this Bill.

Sign the NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi open letter now!

This Government continues to embarrass us on the world stage.

The takeaway:
- 406 members voted for the employment standards convention for gig workers and only 8 against, including the United States and New Zealand.
- New Zealand continues to fall behind the rest of the world when it comes to workers' rights.
- Last year, Aotearoa's Supreme Court ruled in favour of workers who were being misclassified as contractors - so this Government coalition changed the law to favor big international corporations (following meetings with Uber, who drafted new legislation for Brooke van Velden).
- NZ First, ACT and National will continue to sell out Kiwi workers to overseas big business.
- The next Government needs to repeal the Employment Relations Amendment Bill - enrol to vote!

Story link in comments.
Authorised by Dennis Maga, Workers First Union, 120 Church Street, Onehunga, Auckland

This November, look at what parties DO, not what they SAY. An ACT Party Minister has been found to have spent $17,000 on airport parking from 2024-2026 - while she was cutting budgets and front-line services from Oranga Tamariki.

This Government talks big about reducing wasteful spending while they give themselves excellent pay rises and claim accommodation allowances for properties they already own. Now ACT Party Minister Karen Chhour has been found to have spent tens of thousands on airport parking instead of making use of Parliamentary transport services (story link in comments).

Is this Government tightening YOUR belt while they fill their bellies?

Wellington folks! Join the National Day of Action: Stop the Gender Definitions Amendment Bill on Sat 13 June ✊🏳️‍⚧️✊

The real question we need to ask about NZ First’s “Definitions of Woman and Man” Bill is why a party who pretends to care about New Zealand’s ‘sovereignty’ is so desperate to force our country into a ridiculous global culture war started by grifters, charlatans and cynical bigots?

Could it be because NZ First and the National-ACT Government have completely failed to manage our economy and are desperate to put the public focus anywhere other than a self-created cost-of-living crisis, shrinking wages, fewer jobs and a revolving door of lobbyists who write our legislation and accelerate the transfer of wealth and power from the poorest in society to the richest?

Remember, this November: a vote for Winston Peters is a vote for David Seymour and three more years of US-style culture war theatrics while your rent goes up and your wages don't.

Trans rights are human rights.