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FIRST Union
Putting Workers First
FIRST Union is New Zealand's second-largest private sector trade union.
Formed in 2011 after the merger between the National Distribution Union and Finsec, FIRST Union represents 27,000 workers in the Finance, Industrial (Textile and Wood), Retail, Stores, Transport and Logistics sectors.
FIRST Union is also affiliated to the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and runs several networks including the Union Network of Migrants, the Runanga, Fono and Womens' Committee. In 2015 FIRST Union launched Samoa First Union, Samoa's only private sector union.
Join FIRST Union today for higher pay, better conditions and more say at work.
FIRST Union - Latest News [Page 13]
Tip Top bakery workers fighting to put bread on their table
Sunday, 24 November 2019, 1:39 pm | First Union
Tip Top bakery workers fighting to put bread on their own tables Source: First Union More >>
Supermarket workers on path to living wage
Friday, 15 November 2019, 12:50 pm | FIRST Union
FIRST Union members at Countdown have ratified a new agreement that will set their supermarket team on a path towards a living wage, and significantly raise the pay of 15,000 workers across the country. More >>
Union Kaumātua calls for Iwi involvement in Go Bus dispute
Wednesday, 13 November 2019, 1:42 pm | FIRST Union
FIRST Union Kaumātua Syd Keepa is calling on Ngāi Tahu and Tainui, co-owners of Go Bus, to intervene in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions that saw bus drivers beginning a full strike in South Auckland this morning, FIRST Union said today. More >>
Go Bus drives South Auckland bus drivers to full strike
Tuesday, 12 November 2019, 2:55 pm | FIRST Union
Go Bus drivers in Auckland will be taking full strike action from tomorrow as relations reach a new low with their employer following a week where the company has cancelled regular wage bargaining, arbitrarily suspended union-affiliated drivers, rejected ... More >>
Go Bus strike continues with dangerous managerial behaviour
Monday, 11 November 2019, 11:54 am | FIRST Union
FIRST Union Go Bus drivers in South Auckland say this morning’s picket action turned into something much more serious as two senior Go Bus managers manned buses and attempted to forcefully drive through the peaceful picket line, putting striking union members ... More >>
Arrest of union organisers and activists in Negros condemned
Wednesday, 6 November 2019, 1:19 pm | FIRST Union
At FIRST Union’s Regional Conference in Auckland yesterday, officials and delegates from around New Zealand condemned the All Saints Day evening raid and arrest of over 60 union organisers, human rights defenders and activists in the Philippines province ... More >>
FIRST Union commends ANZ on living wage stamp
Wednesday, 6 November 2019, 12:35 pm | FIRST Union
Today’s announcement that ANZ have received Living Wage accreditation should be applauded, and it shows that all banks can afford to and should pay their workers fairly, FIRST Union said today. More >>
CTU President offers support to striking Go Bus drivers
Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 10:00 am | FIRST Union
Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff has met with and offered support to striking South Auckland Go Bus drivers, who are continuing with their month-long free bus fares protest following an employment dispute that drivers say is causing ... More >>
Bus drivers continuing free fares protest in South Auckland
Wednesday, 23 October 2019, 2:18 pm | First Union
Go Bus drivers in South Auckland will continue refusing to collect fares tomorrow as their protest continues with the intent of avoiding disruption to passengers while highlighting the need for fair wage negotiations with their employer, FIRST Union ... More >>
Free bus fares in South Auckland tomorrow
Wednesday, 23 October 2019, 11:24 am | FIRST Union
South Aucklanders from Mangere to East Tamaki will be riding their Go Bus services to work for free tomorrow morning, as FIRST Union bus drivers opt out of collecting fares for their employer in an industrial action designed to show the wider public ... More >>
Workers of all stripes join Cotton On staff in picket
Wednesday, 16 October 2019, 10:23 am | First Union
Cotton On members are currently negotiating a new Collective Agreement with their employer, but despite the company’s repeated claims that they will provide “a pathway to the living wage”, a “people first focus” and a “commitment to ... More >>
FIRST Union supports CTU’s framework for Fair Pay Agreements
Tuesday, 15 October 2019, 3:08 pm | FIRST Union
Today’s Council of Trade Unions’ report, Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness , provides a much-needed pathway to fair wages and conditions across several major industries, and the Government must deliver on its promise to introduce FPAs ... More >>
Locked-out Godfrey Hirst workers continue industrial action
Sunday, 6 October 2019, 1:19 pm | First Union
Fifty union workers at carpet manufacturer Godfrey Hirst who are currently locked out of their jobs after fighting for a living wage have today been continuing their industrial action throughout the company’s retail sites in Auckland, FIRST Union ... More >>
Lockout - workers at Godfrey Hirst shut out
Friday, 4 October 2019, 10:32 am | First Union
Carpet workers at Godfrey Hirst have been locked out by their employer after a breakdown in negotiations over their denial of a living wage for all staff. More >>
Godfrey Hirst workers locked out after demanding living wage
Friday, 4 October 2019, 8:37 am | FIRST Union
FIRST Union members at Godfrey Hirst Carpets in Wiri, Auckland, have been indefinitely locked out of their jobs at the carpet manufacturing warehouse following a breakdown in negotiations over a starting-out living wage for all staff, FIRST Union said today. More >>
Pak’N’Save Henderson closure - workers await pay agreement
Thursday, 3 October 2019, 2:08 pm | First Union
Workers at Pak’N’Save Henderson still waiting on pay agreement as store closure approaches More >>
Union Runanga and Fono reps support Just Transition
Thursday, 3 October 2019, 1:56 pm | First Union
FIRST Union Maori and Pasifika members attending their biennial hui have called on the Government to take the twin threats of climate change and automation seriously and ensure a Just Transition for lower-paid workers on the frontlines, noting that ... More >>
Union welcomes banking crackdown while urging caution
Wednesday, 25 September 2019, 1:46 pm | FIRST Union
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi’s announcement that stricter controls on banks and insurance companies will be introduced in new legislation is a welcome step in the right direction, but the Minister needs to be vigilant about ... More >>
California law shows way to protect ‘gig economy’ workers
Tuesday, 24 September 2019, 2:00 pm | First Union
Ground-breaking legislation that passed in California last week could be just what platform workers like Uber drivers and other insecure workers in New Zealand need to escape the rat race of the so-called ‘gig economy’, FIRST Union said today. More >>
Hefty fine shows why Ritchies needs proper scrutiny
Monday, 23 September 2019, 5:07 pm | FIRST Union
A nearly $1 million dollar fine incurred by Ritchies Transport Holdings after admitting a health and safety charge on a bus crash that killed three and injured twenty-seven others shows why the company needs more scrutiny from the New Zealand Transport Agency ... More >>
