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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 3]
Brown’s Budget Would Be A Financial And Moral Disaster For Auckland
Wednesday, 29 March 2023, 9:24 am | FIRST Union
Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed 2023/24 Budget for Auckland is both morally reprehensible and financially calamitous, according to FIRST Union’s submission to Auckland Council on the Budget (attached) , which argues for an alternative route that trades Brown’s ... More >>
First FPA In Aotearoa Confirmed - Bus Drivers To Begin Negotiations
Wednesday, 29 March 2023, 6:05 am | FIRST Union
FIRST Union bus drivers have today become the first group of workers in the country’s history to successfully initiate a Fair Pay Agreement following its approval by MBIE , and it will now progress to the negotiating stage, where drivers will aim to build ... More >>
Banking Union Calls For Levy On Bank Profits
Tuesday, 21 March 2023, 10:17 am | FIRST Union
FIRST Union, the union for bank workers across New Zealand, is supporting calls for an immediate inquiry into bank profits and proposing a levy on excess profits to fund the establishment of a Ministry of Green Works . The March 2023 KPMG Financial ... More >>
Clarificatory Note Requested By The Ministry Of Social Development
Tuesday, 28 February 2023, 7:09 pm | First Union
Attributed to Mikee Santos, UNEMIG coordinator. " We’d like to clarify that anyone who is in New Zealand on a valid work visa can apply for a Civil Defence Payment, this includes RSE workers." "How much someone can get depends on their ... More >>
FIRST Union And FISC Highlight Urgent Need For Forestry Worker Assistance
Thursday, 23 February 2023, 2:03 pm | FIRST Union
FIRST Union and the Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC) met with the Ministry of Primary Industry (MPI) sector engagement team for Forestry and Wood Processing, as well as the Ministry of Social Development, today to discuss the impact of Cyclone ... More >>
NZ Uber Drivers Initiate Bargaining For First Ever Collective Agreement
Monday, 13 February 2023, 7:14 am | FIRST Union
Hundreds of Uber drivers who have unionised following their landmark Employment Court victory in October 2022 have initiated bargaining with the company for their first ever collective agreement in Aotearoa, FIRST Union confirmed today. "This ... More >>
Fair Pay Gathers Pace: Over 1000 Signatures Submitted As Bus And Supermarket FPAs Underway
Friday, 23 December 2022, 12:02 pm | FIRST Union
Over a thousand bus drivers and supermarket workers have signed and submitted documents registering their support for Fair Pay Agreements in their respective industries, confirming the necessary minimum number of workers to initiate negotiations for fairer ... More >>
School Bus Funding Boost "The Best Christmas Present You Could Get"
Wednesday, 21 December 2022, 2:07 pm | FIRST Union
Today’s announcement of $26 million in funding to raise rural school bus driver wages shows a commitment to improving bus driver working conditions and ending the driver shortage, according to FIRST Union. "Today’s announcement will go a ... More >>
Government Throwing Away Progress On Public Transport
Wednesday, 14 December 2022, 1:39 pm | FIRST Union
Today’s decision by Government to end universal half-price public transport from April next year is a short-sighted and unnecessary move that endangers our national modal shift when positive action on climate change and the high cost of living is ... More >>
Union Members At Fletchers’ EasySteel Win Substantial Pay Rise
Wednesday, 14 December 2022, 10:57 am | First Union
FIRST Union and E tū Union members who work at two Fletcher-owned EasySteel sites in Auckland and Christchurch have last week voted unanimously to accept an 8.75% wage increase in their new Collective Agreement that will see them through the next ... More >>
Paper And Pulp Workers Locked Out In ‘Standover Tactic’ From Oji Fibre
Thursday, 8 December 2022, 4:14 pm | FIRST Union
FIRST Union and E tū pulp and paper workers, who on Tuesday confirmed an intention to withdraw their labour from multi-national giant Oji Fibre Solutions’ Penrose Mill from December 10th, have been locked out by their employer in an aggressive ... More >>
Unions Send Notice To Withdraw Labour From Major Recycler
Wednesday, 7 December 2022, 12:02 pm | FIRST Union
First Union and E tū members at Oji Fibre Solutions’ Penrose Mill have today sent notice of their intention to take industrial action by withdrawing their labour from December 10th for five working days. Workers at the mill, which is part of the ... More >>
Hundreds Of Drivers Lodging Backpay Claims With Uber
Wednesday, 7 December 2022, 7:05 am | First Union
Hundreds of Uber drivers who say they’re owed thousands of dollars in backpay by Uber have today begun submitting their claims to the Employment Relations Authority. FIRST Union, the union representing these drivers, says the claims will continue ... More >>
OCR Hike Disproportionately Hurts Workers - Time For A New Approach
Thursday, 24 November 2022, 1:26 pm | FIRST Union
FIRST Union is concerned that yesterday’s unprecedented 75 basis point OCR hike will unnecessarily punish lower-income workers and is calling for a new approach that shares the burden more appropriately. "Yesterday’s monetary policy statement ... More >>
50th Anniversary Of End Of Compulsory Military Training Remembered
Wednesday, 23 November 2022, 12:09 pm | FIRST Union
This weekend sees the 50th anniversary celebration of the short but successful 1972 campaign to get rid of compulsory military training for 19-year-old males in Aotearoa / New Zealand. Campaigners and military service resisters will meet in Wellington ... More >>
Countdown Workers Sign Major New Deal That Could Form Basis For FPA
Thursday, 3 November 2022, 5:31 am | First Union
Thousands of FIRST Union members at Countdown supermarkets have voted to accept a significant new 2-year Collective Agreement that includes wage increases of around 12%, a starting Living Wage, improvements to pandemic leave and sick leave, and commitments ... More >>
Nats Tax Plan Would Rob The Poor To Pay The Rich (again)
Wednesday, 2 November 2022, 12:51 pm | FIRST Union
Research released today by the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) shows the opposition National Party’s headline tax policy - a key component of their response to the cost of living crisis - would widen inequality with luxurious tax cuts for the rich, ... More >>
Bus And Supermarket Workers Celebrate Passing Of Fair Pay Agreements
Wednesday, 26 October 2022, 6:39 pm | First Union
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 ... More >>
SGS Oil And Gas Workers’ Strike Begins Across North Island
Wednesday, 19 October 2022, 8:21 am | FIRST Union
FIRST Union members who work for the Société Générale de Surveillance ( SGS ) in Ruakaka, New Plymouth, Napier and Tauranga are today beginning a full withdrawal of labour until the 25 th of October following unsuccessful negotiations over a new ... More >>
SGS Oil And Gas Workers Vote To Strike Over Pay
Tuesday, 11 October 2022, 10:17 am | First Union
A strike notice has been issued by FIRST Union members at oil and gas service company SGS , instructing the company that workers will withdraw their labour from October 19 as talks stall over pay increases in line with inflation and the rising cost of ... More >>
