Unite Union will be holding its 2018 National Delegates Conference and Union AGM in Auckland on

Wednesday 10th October and Thursday 11th October 2018

St Columba Centre,

40 Vermont St, Ponsonby

Auckland. 

Delegates will be attending from all over the country to participate in training workshops, discussions about the future of unionism and Unite, and to elect Unite's National Executive and officers, the leading body of the union.

The following is a release from the French General Confederation of Labour (CGT) who had a member aboard the second  flotilla boat, “FREEDOM”  boarded illegally by Israeli forces in the last few days.

"The CGT protests against acts of piracy by Israeli forces, as well as the arrests of trade unionists in this occasion

During the night of Friday to Saturday, August 4, the FREEDOM, the second boat of the "Freedom Flotilla" was boarded in international waters.

The attackers who carried out an act of piracy were the Israeli special forces, under the command of the Government of Israel.

On the occasion of this arrest, Pascal MAURIERAS, a CGT sailor who was participating in this peaceful humanitarian mission, was violently arrested, beaten and thrown into an Israeli prison.

During the arrest of the first boat, the "Al Awda", it was Mike TREEN, a New Zealand trade unionist from UNITE, a member of NZCTU and the CSI, who was arrested and very violently hit by the attackers causing serious injuries.

UPDATE (11:48am 31st July NZ time)   

We have now received a direct report from Mike in Givon Prison.

He was tasered repeatedly by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) while in the wheelhouse of the Al Awda and subsequently tightly handcuffed. He received injuries to his face and head and was bleeding but is now recovering.

Of Mike’s fellow flotilla members one was tasered in the head, a 69 year old female surgeon received a head injury and a senior Canadian passenger was received a foot injury and had to be treated in hospital.

The IOF takeover of the boat conducted by armed and masked soldiers was clearly violent with many passengers & crew assaulted, roughly handled and hit. 

Local civil rights lawyers met with all those detained a few hours ago. All their belongings, including their passports have been seized and not returned, despite promises they would if they co-operated.

Despite KiaOra Gaza contacting the New Zealand Hon. Consul in Tel Aviv requesting assistance we are unaware of any contact, visit or action from the New Zealand Government or its representatives to assist.

(update at 4pm Monday 31st July - The Honorary Consul has now been to see Mike. Winston Peters has responded to the letters sent to him but the Government has taken no specific action apart from alerting the Cairo embassy to Mike's situation).

The next flotilla boat, the “Freedom” continues to approach Gaza.

Previous report (6.15am 31st July NZ time)

Eyewitnesses report that Unite Union leader Mike Treen’s boat was hijacked in a violent raid and that he and the rest of the crew are being held in Givon prison, near Tel Aviv.

Two Israeli citizens who were on board have been charged and released on bail and, contrary to the Israeli military’s claim that the raid on the Al Awda was “without exceptional incident”, Zohar Chamberlain Regev, the boat leader, reports that at the time of boarding: “People on board were tasered and hit by masked IOF soldiers. We did not get our passports or belongings before we got off the boat. Do not believe reports of peaceful interception.” 

Mr Regev also reports seeing blood on the deck of the Al Awda as the last participants were being dragged off the ship, which is very alarming given the extreme violence shown by Israel to past flotillas. We are awaiting information about Mike’s condition, charges he may face and what the Israeli’s intend to do with the remaining 20 flotilla participants they have imprisoned.

The international Freedom Flotilla have engaged local lawyers who are trying to gain access to them.

New Zealand Union leader Mike Treen has been attacked and unlawfully detained by the Israeli military this morning and his union,Unite, is calling on our government to demand Israeli authorities release him and the other international campaigners that were aboard the Al Awda this morning when it was raided.

His final radio  message just before the Israeli attack can be heard here: 

“Mike was taking part in a peaceful mission to deliver aid to Gaza and was in international waters when attacked and detained. We understand he has been taken, kidnapped in reality, to the southern Israeli port of Ashod.” said National Secretary Gerard Hehir. 

“We expect the New Zealand government to strongly protest and demand his immediate release, along with his fellow campaigners and the Al Awda so they can deliver the much needed medical aid to the port of Gaza”. 

“Their mission to Gaza posed absolutely no threat to Israel or to Israeli citizens. It is a fishing boat loaded with medicines. This is not about security, it is about Israel treating Gaza as the worlds biggest prison, killing, maiming and kidnapping anyone who even approaches the walls, wires and blockades they have built around Gaza - territory the rest of the world has clearly said is illegally occupied by Israel.”

Veteran human rights campaigner and union leader, Mike Treen, is about to join the 2018 international Freedom Flotilla determined to challenge Israel’s 11-year inhumane naval blockade of Gaza later this month.

Treen says it is "a great honour to be asked to participate and a chance to deepen solidarity between workers in New Zealand and Palestine.

"We need an international campaign to isolate apartheid Israel in the same way we did against Apartheid South Africa," said Mr Treen. "I see my participation in this trip as the logical continuation and extension to my participation in the Biko Squad against the Springbok Tour of New Zealand."

In what has been dubbed a "Popcorn Strike" Unite Union will be handing out free popcorn outside Hoyts Cinemas to support Hoyts workers who have been threatened with being locked out until the end of July if they go on strike for only one minute.

Workers are being told they must accept an offer that will put nearly all of them on the minimum wage, currently, $16.50 an hour, with existing rewards for skill and service eliminated over the three-year term they want to impose.

A single cinema ticket is now $19 or more for an adult. The smallest popcorn serving sells for $7.90 and costs only a few cents to produce.

Unite hopes to highlight the low wages being imposed on workers compared to the profits they get from the tickets and confectionary through the "Popcorn Strike".

Hoyts cinemas have threatened their workers that if they take even 1 minute of strike action, they will be locked out of the workplace for almost a month.

The threat comes after union members rejected a 3-year offer that would have seen all staff who are not on base rates that automatically move with the minimum wage forced back towards the minimum wage.

Hoyts have said they will take the draconian step of locking out workers until 26 July even for a "partial strike" like not selling popcorn or workers having their breaks together. 

"This is a declaration of war" says Unite Union National Director Mike Treen.

"It became very clear during bargaining that the lockout threat was an instruction from Australia where Hoyt's head office is based. Hoyts Australia is in turn owned by the Wanda group based in China, the worlds largest cinema chain operator who bought the Australian company for a billion dollars just three years ago.

"Hoyts Australia sent a representative to the first rounds of bargaining but boycotted the two mediated bargaining sessions held in the last month.

"We were left in the ridiculous position where the New Zealand team would have to call Australia for instructions whenever solutions to the deadlock were being discussed. Ultimately, the person on the other end of the line refused all compromises. It's like they don't take their NZ operations seriously. 

"Hoyts Australia has been plagued by scandal in recent months."

"The company was giving credits to cinema-goers for an online betting account which wasn't requested when cinema tickets were bought. Hoyts Chief Executive Damian Keogh was caught by police flushing cocaine down a restaurant toilet after a day-long liquid lunch but kept his job. (See media links below with video of police bust)

"We wonder if there is a culture of greed and excess at Hoyts and they are wanting to make workers in this country pay for that greed.

"Their claims during bargaining included reintroducing youth rates, stopping the deduction of union fees, and a three-year deal with compressed margins for skill and service in years two and three.

"They want to keep staff who are currently paid above the starting rate to a two or three per cent a year increases when the minimum wage will be increasing by 6 or 7 per cent a year. 

"The union has fought hard for years to ensure that workers are able to move off the minimum wage based on their skill and experience.  

"When the minimum wage increases we have to be able to maintain those margins for skill and service or we will end up with workers effectively being pushed back on to the minimum wage.

By Mike Treen, National Director, Unite Union

(Reprinted from The Daily Blog)

Bunnings have confessed to not paying annual leave correctly and agreed to pay back staff $11 million dollars going back 14 years.

This is an important win for First Union who represent workers at Bunnings and all workers in New Zealand.

It is probable that several million workers are owed money. But the vast majority of them are unlikely to see any of the money deliberately stolen from them by major corporates and payroll providers.

It seems the government has only directly engaged with the 100 biggest employers to demand they fix the problem. There is no mechanism to force compliance on the rest of the employers and payroll providers to ensure that the settlement process is carried through.

Burger King union members across the country are starting strike action tomorrow (Friday 15th June) over pay, hours and health and safety at the fast food chain.

Unite Union National Secretary and lead negotiator Gerard Hehir says the members have had enough, with over 92% voting to take strike action.

“They are sick of having some of the lowest pay rates amongst major fast food companies, sick of working unpaid hours, sick of not getting their breaks and sick of Burger King not sticking to agreements.”

“We were disgusted to find salaried managers, who supervise staff and manage stores on their own, sometimes working for less than the minimum wage. They are routinely expected to not take breaks and to work extra hours without pay or time off. When your hourly rate is just $16.88 - only 34 cents above the minimum wage, you only have to work around one hour unpaid a week to go below the minimum wage.”

Because of these issues Unite has included BK salaried managers in negotiations for the first time and has a case before the Employment Authority for a former salaried manager who ended up in just that situation. Unite has been asking for weeks for clock-in/out time records for all salaried members. Burger King has refused to provide them, denying they exist despite having supplied such information on an individual basis previously.  

“This confirms our fears that minimum wage breaches amongst managers has been widespread. Because it involves minimum standards we have now asked the Labour Inspectorate to investigate. It is no surprise that many salaried managers are migrant workers. Pay rates are only effective if you actually get paid for all your work. Burger King needs to wake up - the days of employers getting away with stealing their workers time and wages are over.”

Wendy's was given an interim injunction by the Employment Court yesterday against Unite Union to stop picketers trespassing on the company's land.

The union has disputed whether the employment court had the jurisdiction to issue such injunctions in the circumstances.

The union has also been sent maps by the company that appears to claim a right to exclude pickets from common areas including areas not owned or occupied by Wendy’s.

We do not accept this but will comply with until the full hearing of the court.

Unite National Director Mike Treen says "it is important for all supporters of workers in low-paid industries like fast food to respect these ongoing strikes and pickets by Wendy's workers."

Supporters are being asked to come along and show that support outside the company's Dominion Rd, Auckland, store tonight from 5-7pm.

Wendy's workers and supporters have been picketing stores over the last few weeks to improve the company offer