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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 14]
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 >>
Waikato bus drivers win living wage after ordeal with Go Bus
Wednesday, 18 September 2019, 8:57 pm | First Union
FIRST Union members who work at Go Bus Ltd in Waikato are finally celebrating a living wage making it into their pay packets after enduring two years of frustrating negotiations with an employer who did everything possible to keep workers underpaid, FIRST Union ... More >>
Action on bank gender pay gap must begin at the bottom
Wednesday, 18 September 2019, 2:54 pm | First Union
FIRST Union today welcomed Westpac’s public admission of the significant gender pay gap in its workforce and reiterated its call for employers to work with unions to close this disparity, arguing that this work must begin at the bottom of the pay ... More >>
Company must live up to living wage, say striking Cotton On
Monday, 16 September 2019, 5:49 pm | FIRST Union
Workers at Cotton On’s Mangere distribution centre, who today took strike action outside the company’s Queen Street retail store, say it’s time Cotton On management cut the spin and lived up to their own promises of paying a living wage to all staff, ... More >>
Strike: Cotton On workers taking action
Monday, 16 September 2019, 8:04 am | FIRST Union
WHAT: FIRST Union members at Cotton On’s Mangere distribution centre are taking strike action outside the company’s Queen Street store in protest at its management’s failure to live up to their own self-proclaimed belief in a living wage for all workers ... More >>
PAK’n’SAVE Henderson: Your staff are not being demolished
Tuesday, 10 September 2019, 6:54 pm | First Union
In an increasingly disrespectful display to staff, PAK’n’SAVE’s Alderman Drive store in Henderson, Auckland, is still refusing to negotiate a new Collective Agreement with more than one hundred FIRST Union members on site despite the building being ... More >>
Farmers Department Store Strikers March through the Mall
Friday, 28 June 2019, 9:08 am | FIRST Union
Farmers Department Store workers who are members of FIRST Union flooded through the doors of Silverdale Mall today and marched through the building to the surprise and delight of shoppers. Recent weeks have seen a rash of strikes as Farmers Department ... More >>
Union Welcomes Change of Heart at Mitre 10
Thursday, 27 June 2019, 4:36 pm | FIRST Union
FIRST Union welcomes and acknowledges Martin Dippie’s enthusiastic reaction to the Employment Relations Authority decision which provides living wages to FIRST Union members. More >>
Bank Tellers relieved that sales targets are gone for good
Tuesday, 25 June 2019, 8:59 am | FIRST Union
Members of FIRST Union who work in the banking sector felt vindicated by the FMA and Reserve Bank of New Zealand announcement that all banks had committed to remove sales incentives from frontline staff and their managers. More >>
Landmark win for Mitre 10 workers
Monday, 24 June 2019, 5:35 pm | FIRST Union
In a landmark case, members of FIRST Union who work at Mitre 10 Mega in Dunedin and Mitre 10 Mosgiel have achieved their first collective agreement which affords a living wage. The is the first Collective Agreement in New Zealand history that was determined ... More >>
Landmark win for Mitre 10 workers
Monday, 24 June 2019, 4:13 pm | FIRST Union
In a landmark case, members of FIRST Union who work at Mitre 10 Mega in Dunedin and Mitre 10 Mosgiel have achieved their first collective agreement which affords a living wage. More >>
Farmers department store workers taking strike action
Thursday, 20 June 2019, 4:00 pm | First Union
Workers at Farmers Department Stores who are members of FIRST Union are taking further strike action starting today. More >>
West Auckland, Farmers Department Store workers walk off
Thursday, 13 June 2019, 10:44 am | FIRST Union
FIRST Union members who work at Farmers Department Store in Henderson are walking off the job today. More >>
