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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.

Contact FIRST Union

Website - www.firstunion.org.nz
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FIRST Union - Latest News [Page 36]

Many households just keeping head above water

Thursday, 28 November 2013, 1:09 pm | First Union

Latest household income and expenditure figures show many New Zealand families are just keeping their heads above water, FIRST Union said today. More >>

FIRST Union: Update on Tachikawa situation

Wednesday, 27 November 2013, 2:53 pm | First Union

FIRST Union General Secretary Robert Reid has this afternoon received an assurance from Hancock Forest Management that they will not be seeking any payment from the receivers of Tachikawa Forest Products ahead of the preferential payment for Tachikawa’s ... More >>

Tachikawa workers to protest outside forestry company today

Wednesday, 27 November 2013, 9:35 am | First Union

Tachikawa workers will picket the offices of a local forestry company in Rotorua today, who workers now understand is the company holding up the preferential payment of their redundancy pay before Christmas. More >>

Logging firm must stop holdingTachikawa workers to ransom

Tuesday, 26 November 2013, 9:16 am | First Union

FIRST Union’s new president is calling on a logging firm to stop standing in the way of Tachikawa’s 120 workers getting urgently needed money owed to them before Christmas. More >>

Research finds bank staff stressed with targets

Friday, 22 November 2013, 3:52 pm | First Union

A survey of women in banks released today finds that many are experiencing high levels of stress as a result of the industry’s aggressive sales targets regime, the bank workers’ union said today. More >>

Big bank CEO salaries off the back of terror regime in banks

Thursday, 21 November 2013, 3:45 pm | First Union

Big profits and massive salaries paid to bank CEOs come off the back of aggressive sales targets and an associated climate of fear in banks, says FIRST Union, who will tomorrow present a research paper on the ‘terror regime’ in our banks. More >>

Transpacific sale opportunity to lift status/pay for workers

Wednesday, 30 October 2013, 3:17 pm | First Union

The New Zealand sale of Transpacific Industries provides an opportunity to lift the status of work and the pay at one of the waste industry’s biggest operators, FIRST Union said today. More >>

Tachikawa Workers Laid Off

Friday, 25 October 2013, 2:27 pm | First Union

Receivers for Rotorua based Tachikawa Forest Products gave 120 workers termination notices this morning. At a face to face meeting with 80 workers called by FIRST Union the KordaMentha receivers indicated they would not be able to restart trading and ... More >>

Huge blow to Rotorua sawmill workers

Saturday, 19 October 2013, 1:37 pm | First Union

News that a major Rotorua employer has been placed into receivership will be a huge blow to the workforce, the wood sector union said today. More >>

Working families still struggling

Friday, 4 October 2013, 11:24 am | First Union

Working families are still struggling to make ends meet, a union for low paid workers said today, following the release of the NZ Income Survey this morning. More >>

Barrier to migrant workers exposing abuse still unaddressed

Friday, 4 October 2013, 11:04 am | First Union

UNEMIG, Union Network of Migrants, says that changes to migrant worker rights announced yesterday are a step in the right direction, but don’t address one of the biggest barriers migrant workers face in speaking out. More >>

Competition on basis of labour costs not good for roading

Friday, 6 September 2013, 2:12 pm | First Union

An Auckland roading firm in receivership needs to shoulder some of the responsibility for its poor situation, the union for transport and logistics workers said today. Blacktop Construction was this week placed into receivership, it was reported this ... More >>

Strong show of opposition to low wages and cuts to work righ

Thursday, 22 August 2013, 1:00 pm | First Union

1500 workers have spoken out against low wages and cuts to their work rights at union meetings across Auckland this morning. More >>

Changes to trucking skills shortage rules an opportunity

Thursday, 1 August 2013, 2:37 pm | First Union

The removal of truck driving from an immigration skills shortage list provides must prompt a dedicated training plan to help New Zealanders to get behind the wheel of trucks, FIRST Union said today. More >>

Foreign charter vessels exemption appalling

Wednesday, 31 July 2013, 4:50 pm | First Union

The Rail and Maritime Transport Union is backing calls from the CTU this morning that boats fishing under settlement quota should not exempted from proposed requirements for foreign charter vessels. More >>

Rich List won’t be celebrated everywhere

Friday, 26 July 2013, 9:42 am | First Union

With hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders living below the poverty line, there is no cause for celebration at today’s publication of the NBR Rich List, FIRST Union said today. More >>

50 redundancies at Dannevirke textile firm

Friday, 19 July 2013, 2:47 pm | First Union

The Dannevirke community has been hit hard today with the news of redundancies at one of the town’s major employers. Canterbury Spinners Limited (CSL) told staff at its Dannevirke plant this morning that they are proposing 50 or more redundancies. More >>