Bus And Supermarket Workers Celebrate Passing Of Fair Pay Agreements

With today’s passing of the long-awaited Fair Pay Agreement legislation, Aotearoa is on track for a fairer and more prosperous future, and FIRST Union members from the bus and supermarket sectors were celebrating as two of the industries likely to be first up under the new framework.

"The passing of Fair Pay Agreements is a testament to years of hard work by union members and organisers, who have successfully made the case for minimum pay and conditions in some of our most important industries against considerable opposition," said Louisa Jones, FIRST Union Assistant General Secretary.

"FPAs pave the way for a rebuild of some of our most critically undervalued industries, and complement our wider goals of reducing inequality, upskilling New Zealand workers, reducing regional wage disparities and returning a fairer share of company profits to the workers who created them."

For Jackie Holt, a Countdown worker from Putaruru and FIRST Union delegate who has regularly been involved in wage bargaining, FPAs represent consistency and pay transparency across the supermarket sector.

"Some supermarket workers have never had the chance to bargain with their employer and negotiate a Collective Agreement, and it’s meant big disparities in wages and conditions between supermarkets, even within the same towns."

"I’m excited - not for my own personal gain but for the industry as a whole. People will have the opportunity to join robust unions for the first time and fairly bargain for better wages and conditions in their area."

Bus drivers are another workforce likely to enter a Fair Pay Agreement early on under the new legislation. Gurdeep Sahni, an Auckland-based bus driver and FIRST Union delegate, said an FPA would make a particular difference in recruiting and retaining more bus drivers amid a national shortage.

"The passing of this legislation is a great start and I think we’ll definitely see more new blood in the industry following the recent wage rises and now this framework for the future," said Mr Sahni.

"Finally bus drivers have been acknowledged and given the recognition and respect they deserve in driving the wheels of our country."

"Under an FPA, bus drivers will not have to drive long hours and burn themselves out in order to provide for their families."

However, Ms Jones warned that the road ahead was unlikely to be smooth for FPAs during the upcoming 2023 election campaign.

"We’ve already seen the wagons circling - employers’ groups and various beneficiaries of worker exploitation are pulling puppet strings among the Parliamentary opposition, so the scare tactics are likely to ramp up in 2023," said Ms Jones.

"Many brands have made billions from what they have considered ‘cheap New Zealand labour’ and sent almost all of that profit offshore - FPAs, while not a total solution to the problem, will return some of that wealth to our communities."

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