Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) give workers a new mechanism to allow workers and employers to set standards across whole industries and occupations. Setting industry standards can protect best employment practices, grow wages, and prevent good work being undercut by cowboy employers.
FPAs would create a similar framework to Australian Industrial Awards
Australian Awards have protected skilled employment and made it easier for decent wages to be maintained. New Zealand’s Fair Pay Agreements are even better than the Australian system, in that they have stronger democratic processes.
Australian Awards are set by their Fair Work Commission, whereas FPAs are negotiated by bargaining parties representing both employees (through unions), and employers (through industry associations). These democratic processes should lead to better outcomes for all, but the New Zealand Employment Authority can still make decide the outcome if parties can’t agree.
FPAs initiated
FPAs have been initiated for workers in hospitality, cleaning, security, bus driving, supermarkets, early childhood education and stevedoring. This means more than 200,000 workers are currently on track to improve their pay and work conditions. The FPA process is long and complicated, but by the election, the unions involved will be ready to negotiate with employers.
FPAs will be especially important to low-paid workers. Industries like security, cleaning and hospitality
cover tens of thousands of workers. Our previous industrial relations laws meant that these workers were
vulnerable to contracting out and undercutting through competitive tendering. Many work in isolated
or small workplaces which make unionization difficult.
Industry-wide agreements like FPAs are a crucial tool to supercharge union workers in these industries
and allow them to improve wages and take many of these workers and their families out of poverty.
Agreements at risk
Unfortunately, the entire FPA process is under threat from a change in government. The National and ACT parties have pledged to repeal FPAs. This would be a huge blow to the thousands of workers working hard to progress FPAs democratically.
It's crucially important to protect Fair Pay Agreements if we wish to see a fairer, stronger Aotearoa.
If you would like more information on Fair Pay Agreements, please look up the Aotearoa’s Opportunity Podcast. It has a range of episodes about what FPAs are, and how they will help fix some of New Zealand’s
biggest challenges.
Ben Peterson
CTU