Fair pay roadshow explaining ins and outs of new bargaining law

Thursday, 3 November 2022

Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood says Fair Pay Agreements will bring 'justice' to those who have experienced a race to the bottom on pay.

Supermarket workers battling their employer for better wages and working conditions are welcoming the Fair Pay Agreement law which will help them get the same basic rights as others working the same job.

The new law comes into effect at the end of this year, and will mean workers in specific industries, like supermarket workers or bus drivers, rather than having to bargain one-on-one with their specific employer (though that is still an option), will be able to bargain collectively with the entire industry to establish basic minimum standards nation-wide.

Nelson MP and former FIRST Union organiser Rachel Boyack said the new law was bringing back stronger bargaining power to workers which were gutted in the 90s, and would help set relevant minimum standards tailored to industries such as bus drivers or supermarket workers.

Boyack said her working career “grew up” in the 90s, after the disestablishment of the “awards” system under which national minimum rates of pay for certain occupations could be set by labour courts.

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Nelson MP and former FIRST Union organiser Rachel Boyack said the Fair Pay Agreement law was bringing back bargaining powers for workers that should never have been lost.

“There was no way for people to work together to increase their wages nationally, and we saw wages decrease,” she said.

“We’re still paying for that period in the 90s.”

She said the new law would lead to increased wages and better working conditions targeting specific industries.

“I’ve done a lot of work with supermarket workers – during the pandemic, people finally saw they were truly essential, people said thank you and sent cards or gave chocolates, but what we really need is better wages and conditions.”

Jenny Wells and others handing out flyers to the public during the union’s negotiation for better wages and conditions at Pak’nSave. Wells was thrilled at the Fair Pay Agreement and said it would make a huge difference.

She said for example it was very common for supermarket workers to be rostered on a Tuesday to Saturday shift, which meant those workers missed every public holiday – but a supermarket industry fair pay agreement could include a “Tuesday-ised” public holiday function which would enable those workers to have the same number of public holidays as everyone else.

Boyack said these sorts of industry fair pay agreements were “really common” overseas, including Australia, and in fact New Zealand was catching up on something that should not have been lost in the first place.

“We should never have lost the ability to bargain at a sector level,” she said. “These are skilled jobs, they’re skilled [workers], they’re wonderful people and they deserve to be payed properly.”

Pak'nSave Richmond union delegate Jenny Wells, who has been fighting for better pay and public holiday agreements for years, said the fair pay agreement coming into law was “a culmination of a lot of work”, and though she was not currently working due to recent health concerns she was thrilled for all those who would benefit.

“I’ve been at Pak’nSave since the beginning,” she said. “We’ve been trying to negotiate a pay rise at Pak’nSave since 2016.”

However, she said the stance of Pak’nSave and parent-company Foodstuffs was that “statutory minimums are enough”. She said since some employers would “only do what the Government says”, the new fair pay agreement law would have a huge impact.

“People getting the same pay at different supermarkets means people won’t be changing jobs as often,” she said. “This means we can get a better deal for workers, with more uniformity in pay and public holidays.”

She said she looked forward to the negotiations that would follow, and the clarity and stability they would bring to workers.

“To see this moving forward is absolutely amazing.”

People wondering what the new Fair Pay Agreement law means for them are attending roadshows across the country, with Nelson’s event on Thursday evening.

The roadshows, organised by the Council of Trade Unions (CTU), are meant to help people understand the new system of industry-wide Fair Pay Agreements, including how they will work, what could be in it for workers, and how they can get involved in establishing an agreement.

The CTU Fair Pay Roadshow is holding an event in Nelson on Thursday, with several more scheduled around the country the month goes on, with events in Palmerston North, Christchurch, Rotorua and more.

Event locations and times can be found on the CTU website. Attendees are asked to register their interest via the same website.