Workers First Union

13/10/2026

Did you get a flyer from a Woolworths store manager yesterday during their first ever strike? Hundreds of members stopped work for one hour to tell customers about a pay offer that would freeze wages for some managers for up to five years.

“The pay offer is a slap in the face for people who run Woolworths’ stores. Union members voted with a majority of 96% to reject the company’s offer. Nobody could tolerate a five-year wage freeze, but that’s what’s on offer here.” - Ross Lampert, Workers First Organiser

Woolworths’ offer:
- Locks in a two-tiered pay system for people doing the same job
- Freezes pay for up to five years for some managers, and offers pay rises well below inflation to others
- Gives managers no say over the rostering principles that determine their working hours

The two tiers date back to last year’s restructure when longer-serving managers maintained their higher wages while newer managers were hired on less, despite doing the same work. The understanding was that this gap would close over a relatively short period. This contradicts what Woolworths is now offering: a three-year deal that would lock the two tiers in, with a pay gap of 2.2% still remaining at the end of it. Managers on the higher tier have already had their pay frozen over the past year, and this offer means that their pay would continue to be frozen for at least the next 3.

“Workers want some reasonable control over their rosters so they can plan their lives outside Woolworths, with quality time with family and room for outside interests. Managers are not people who take industrial action lightly. This is their first strike in the company’s history, and it shows how badly this offer has landed.” - Ross

Our members just want fair pay. Please let Woolworths know you care about how staff are treated, by emailing:
[email protected]

12/10/2026

We are All Workers United against racism and xenophobia. See you on October 17th.

07/10/2026

🚨 Join the march against racism and xenophobia on Saturday 17 October! 🚨

07/10/2026

In today's ridiculous (and very scary!) news...

Waste Management, New Zealand’s largest materials recovery and recycling provider, is pushing ahead with making 23 rubbish truck drivers redundant and re-engaging 17 of them as owner-drivers.

Auckland drivers who work for WM New Zealand will go from employees with job security, guaranteed hours, minimum wage protections, holidays, KiwiSaver contributions, a union and the right to bargain collectively, to sham contractors with no job protection or work rights, and a massive financial debt to the company to buy their rubbish truck. We expect debts of hundreds of thousands of dollars for workers.

"This is a predatory scam enabled by the Government’s destruction of work rights through the Employment Relations Amendment Bill. The councils around the country who tender services to WM New Zealand should be aware that this is how the company is planning to operate elsewhere, because we believe it will have major impacts on service delivery."

Says Justin Wallace, Workers First organiser.

"Drivers will be individually responsible for maintaining, repairing and upgrading their rubbish truck under the false pretence that they can use it for other business. In reality, drivers will be working solely for Waste Management and their truck will wear that same brand and logo while they drive the same shifts they always have. Having to give up your right to things like sick leave, guaranteed hours of work and collective bargaining just to stay in your job is not an acceptable trade-off."

WM New Zealand holds a 10-year contract with Auckland Council for kerbside collection in parts of Auckland. The current restructure pertains to East and South (Pakuranga to Manurewa), but the company has already restructured in the same way in other areas despite consistently negative feedback during consultation with drivers.

If you're wondering why this should scare YOU... what's stopping the same thing happening to YOUR job!? National-ACT-NZ First's Employment Relations Amendment Bill has put everyone's working rights at risk.

05/10/2026

04/10/2026

This 10th of October we join the Global Day of Action to once again support the rights of Palestinians for self-determination and to live peacefully in their own lands.

Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland event: 2pm, Te Komititanga/Britomart Square

02/10/2026

Some of the most important dates for the 2026 election:

4 October: Last day to enrol and get an EasyVote card.
25 October: Last day to enrol (and update your details) to vote in the election.
26 October - 7 November: Voting period - vote early!

Register to vote or check that your details are correct NOW at vote.nz

30/09/2026

"Woolworths has just banked $163 million in earnings from Kiwi shoppers, and its response is to put 130 New Zealanders out of work to save pocket change. It's short-sighted, it's greedy, and it’s a company turning its back on a country it has extracted mega-profits from." - Rudd Hughes, Workers First Deputy Secretary.

Our hearts go out to the workers who are losing their jobs. Workers First will now work to ensure Woolworths lives up to its redundancy obligations, pursues redeployment wherever possible and desirable, and does right by every worker affected.

26/09/2026

Buying groceries in NZ = less NZ jobs!?

This is the last weekend to tell Woolworths that moving 130 customer care centre jobs to Oz is BAD FOR BUSINESS:
[email protected]

Woolworths (the Australian-owned half of Aotearoa New Zealand's supermarket duopoly, who made $163 million in NZ earnings (EBIT) last year, up 8.8% on the year before) will announce their final decision on 29 September, as to whether they will close their NZ-based contact centre. This would vanish about 130 New Zealand jobs (mainly held by working mothers, who provide fantastic nation-wide support) in favour of Australian positions.

24/09/2026

Are you tired of Aotearoa New Zealand’s politics being dominated by racism and xenophobia?

Cynical politicians like David Seymour and Winston Peters make our country a worse place to live for tangata whenua and the million migrants who choose to make it their home.

We’re sick of it, and we’re fighting back.
SAVE THE DATE: October 17!

Here’s the mission statement and members of our new coalition, All Workers United – stay tuned for more.

MISSION STATEMENT:
All Workers United Against Racism and Xenophobia is a coalition of unions, migrant groups and community organisations making a stand against racism and xenophobia in Aotearoa.

We believe our country is at its strongest when Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, and migrant groups stand together.

Fundamental rights should not be removed from any group based on their ethnicity, nor should any group be discriminated against because of their country of origin.
Both NZ First and ACT, in governing with the National Party, have used racism and xenophobia to divide workers and communities through attempts to sabotage Te Tiriti o Waitangi and attacks on members of our migrant communities.

We will be marching peacefully on October 17 to protest this racist scapegoating and call on all those who want our elections to be about the issues that matter rather than the racist agenda of NZ First and ACT.

Join us!

PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS:
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi | Te Rūnanga o ngā Kaimahi Māori o Aotearoa | NZCTU Komiti Pasefika | Workers First Union | Public Service Association | E tū | Unite Union | Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand | Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa | Rail & Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) | Pasefika Fono – Workers First | Migrant Workers Association of Aotearoa | Migrante Aotearoa | Runanga – Workers First | United Filipino Bus Drivers in New Zealand | Union Network of Migrants NZ | Filipino Care Workers United | Migrant Rights Network NZ | Love Aotearoa Hate Racism | International Migrants Alliance - IMA | Migrant Action Trust