The journey and challenges of providing free employment advice to support workers in need.
What would you do if you needed help with your employment but couldn’t find it locally? You could do what we did and look at starting your own union.
Trade unions in New Zealand date back to the mid-19th century, when groups of workers with union experience started to arrive from England and Scotland. The first real unions were formed around 1870. These early organisations all set up benefit societies to provide income for their members’ families in case of death or illness and were generally considered respectable and conservative.
During the mid-20th century, union membership in New Zealand peaked, with over 50% of the workforce belonging to a union by the 1970s. However, the 1980s saw a significant decline in union membership, as economic changes and government policies led to the restructuring of many industries and the loss of many unionised jobs.
Despite these challenges, unions in New Zealand have continued to advocate for workers’ rights and improved working conditions. In recent years, unions have been successful in securing progressive change, such as the introduction of minimum wage increases, the extension of paid parental leave, and improved protections for workers in precarious employment.
Today, unions remain an important part of New Zealand’s labour movement, with around 20% of the workforce belonging to a union. The country has a strong legal framework that protects workers’ rights to join a union and to engage in collective bargaining, which has helped to ensure that unions continue to play an important role in shaping workplace conditions and protecting workers’ interests.
But what if you’re a low waged or casual worker and the sub (a regular monthly payment, usually a percentage of your pay to the union) is beyond your means? Or what if your specific job isn’t represented by a single union? And this was the case here on the peninsula. A group of workers had concerns about their working conditions and pay, so we contacted what appeared to be the relevant union, explained our situation and they said they couldn’t help us as we were too far away, too small a group and couldn’t pay regular subs.
So what next? Well we contacted another union specifically set up for workers in small businesses called One Union to see if they could help. They were also unable to help but did offer us some advice and they agreed to work with us to see if we could work together in an affiliate capacity.
And so, Coromandel Workers Council was founded. We offer free employment advice to anyone who needs help or advice with their employment. In addition we offer support to small businesses who often can be overwhelmed by the raft of requirements needed to employ someone.
The first meeting is free.
We are a non-profit, set up as a donee organisation so we are able to accept koha, and we can apply for grants to allow us to continue to provide support for those who don’t have the means to afford legal advice. We are also able to cover some costs by providing consulting services to businesses in the peninsula.
Having been in the position of not being able to secure help for ourselves, we wanted to ensure others were not left in the same position. Reach out if you need support, or have any questions, we’re here to help!
Words by Pamela Grealey
