Renewing New Zealand Unions: The Service And Food Workers’ Union & Living Wage Aotearoa

Abstract

Trade unions and trade unionism are under serious threat in most industrialised countries, in what has been referred to as the ‘crisis in trade unionism’. The crisis is common to trade unions across the globe, consisting of a decline in membership and density, coupled with a loss of political influence and social standing. The crisis has been caused by changes in the political economies of the industrially developed nations. Social Movement Unionism (SMU) is one of the strategies to combat this crisis which has been embraced by unions and union movements in many of the Liberal Market Economies (LME). In the context of New Zealand, Jane Parker has looked at the possibility of SMU at a union movement level. However, at a single union level, the Service and Food Workers’ Union (SFWU) has engaged with this vision of renewal through participation in the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand (LWANZ).This paper will seek to place the SFWU’s engagement with this campaign within a theoretical framework of union renewal; that is, a re-imagining of trade union relationships in order to (re-)gain power along various dimensions. We will further consider the SMU literature and will draw on three concepts identified by Ross in her analysis of social unionism: the ethos, or “collective action frame”; the strategies or “repertoire”; and, the “internal organisational practices”, and how these interlink with the literature on union renewal. Of particular note will be the response of both the union and non-union participants in the LWANZ to the development of their relationships, and whether and how this is contributing to the successes of LWANZ and of union renewal.

District health board engagement with the living wage movement: evidence from official information requests

“…Increased household income lifts all its members to a better standard of living, reducing poverty-related health issues, improving educational achievement, reducing deprivation, and enabling inclusion and citizenship. 28 The living wage requires employers to pay an evidence-based fair wage rather than the lowest legal possibility, and the current minimum wage does not support human flourishing. The purpose of the minimum wage was not to reduce poverty on its own 28 relying instead on other government transfers (i.e., accommodation, health, and education) to support low-income families.…”

Action collective, action de mouvement social: la contribution du syndicalisme à la liberté au travail dans un exemple néo‐zélandais

“…En Nouvelle-Zélande, la conclusion d'alliances visant à promouvoir des objectifs syndicaux, faire évoluer la législation du travail ou renforcer la justice sur le marché du travail (Flanders, 1970) ne fait pas partie des pratiques syndicales traditionnelles. On recense sur la question quelques études de cas, qui fournissent des éléments empiriques peu nombreux, issus d'analyses qualitatives (voir, notamment, Newman et Jess, 2015). Une analyse plus large, qui date d'une dizaine d'années et cumule plusieurs méthodes, a montré que la conclusion de ce type de partenariats s'était faite de façon ponctuelle plutôt qu'en application d'une stratégie syndicale à plus long terme (Parker, 2011).…”

Political activation and social movements: Addressing non‐participation in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…The first, Unions Wellington, is formally a Wellington‐based local body for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, a national organisation tasked with the cross‐sector coordination of the union movement. This degree of institutionalisation does not constitute social movement organising on its own (Newman & Jess, 2014); however, Unions Wellington adopts a ‘social movement unionism’ strategy through which it engages the wider public beyond its more formal membership by inviting anybody to participate in its meetings and actions to advance workers' interests. The second organisation, People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA), uses a combination of advocacy, campaigning and direct action strategies to address issues relating to the human rights of prisoners, as well as what they argue to be irreconcilable contradictions between prisons' stated aims and how they seek to achieve them (Lamusse et al., 2016).…”