Kristine Bartlett speaks at the announcement of the $2 Billion settlement offer, supported by her union colleagues.

2017 turned out a stunner for our campaign to see every woman in New Zealand fairly paid. We saw the first big pay equity win in New Zealand for caregivers, with a $2 Billion settlement for the care and support workers’ five year crusade for their roles to be recognised as skilled and valuable.

But while 55,000 formerly low-paid care and support workers have a brighter Christmas, many more groups of women are looking to 2018 as the year to finally deliver equal pay. Since our change of government in October, the prospects of getting real action on equal pay and pay equity for New Zealand women are looking up.

 Eseta Ailaoa, parliamentary cleaner and E tū union member speaks to media at the Living Wage event at parliament yesterday

The Living Wage movement has chalked up many impressive victories for low paid workers since it started in 2012, and yesterday marked another step towards wage justice in Aotearoa.

Just weeks into the new Government, and cleaners and caterers working at Parliament are celebrating news that Parliament will move them all up to the New Zealand Living Wage rate.

There seems to have been a lot of confusion lately around the whole ‘working for the dole’ proposal Shane Jones announced over the weekend. Even the media reported unions as variously supporting, opposing, and scratching their heads– which might have something to do with the fact what was being proposed is neither well defined, nor, probably, ‘work for the dole’. 

Image available under creative commons licence from www.flickr.com/photos/usfsregion5/  licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ 

 Wellington bus drivers at their meeting on Tuesday 29 November

‘It’s less fuss, take a bus’ is a tagline for public transport campaigns from Hamilton to Northampton. And it’s true, buses, trains and ferries are not only better for the environment, if run well they are cheaper and faster than being jammed in motorway gridlock and fighting for carparks. Public transport options are also vital for the young, the old and those without the space, money or ability to own a car.