This is the last episode of Aotearoa’s Opportunity and in it we document the final days of the Fair Pay Agreements Act including a petition of 15,000 signatures being presented to parliament; calling on the government to reconsider the repeal of the legislation, heated debates from parliament and the Stand up for Fair Pay Protest on the parliamentary lawn. This episode and series acts as an archival piece to document this period of time for the Workers Movement in Aotearoa and it is dedi...

On Episode 9 of Aotearoa’s Opportunity Ben Peterson the national FPA Co-ordinator has a discussion reflecting on the campaign to get Fair Pay Agreements across the line with with FPA Support Organisers Una & Oliver. This conversation touches on some of the work that has been going on behind the scenes, the obstacles faced along the way, lessons learned and some indications on a path forward for securing a future for FPAs in the long term.

On Episode 8 of AOP we talk with Marianne Bishop about Pay Equity and the Aged Care & Support Work Industry. We discuss the the work which has been historically done by women being undervalued and underpaid due to it being considered "women's work." Today this causes industries that are predominantly populated by women to have significant less pay and poorer working conditions compared to similar male dominated industries. To address this issue we discuss the historic pay equi...

On episode 7, Grace Miller a historian and union activist discusses the history of labour and industrial relations within Aotearoa. We discuss how Fair Pay Agreements came about and how this kind of sector wide bargaining is common internationally and existed in New Zealand up until the early 90s. Grace also gives some really interesting context talking about unionisation as a tool for creating transformational change while giving some poignant examples from our history in relation to pa...

On Episode 6 Lisa and Louise discuss the importance of early childhood education for Aotearoa. By setting up our children properly at the start of their lives with quality education we are investing in our societies future and it will pay off great dividends in the years to come. Currently however there are significant challenges that teachers face especially in relation to pay, non contact time, short staffing and the ministry set ratio of 5 children to 1 teacher. As well as this Lisa & ...

On this Episode we discuss the aspirations of the Hospitality Industry Fair Pay Agreement with John Crocker the National Secretary of Unite Union. This is the biggest Fair Pay Agreement covering up to 150,000 workers across the country. John reflects on some of his personal experiences within the industry and the impact that becoming involved with the union had on his life, some of the significant wins of the union over the years and the positive impact that unionisation can allow f...

On todays episode Ben Peterson will be giving a brief recap on the podcast so far. He discusses the exciting Bus Fair Pay Agreement, of which thousands of bus drivers have been participating with across the country. A discussion is also held as to the status of FPAs that have been approved and are progressing for workers in supermarkets, hospitality, cleaning, security and early childhood education.If you're working in a Fair Pay Agreement industry or if your industry isn't covered by a...

On this episode Melissa Ansell-Bridges interviews NZCTU Economist, Craig Renney about the implications of Fair Pay Agreements for the New Zealand economy.Craig explains how Fair Pay Agreements can help to build an economy that works better for working people and by extension New Zealand's society as whole, while also addressing some of the common misconceptions about Fair Pay Agreements.

The Security Industry is beset by problems relating to low pay, health and safety, a lack of training and education and job insecurity. On todays episode Jayson Ormsby a Union Organiser with 5 years experience working within the security industry will share with us his perspective and experiences. He will explain industry level problems and his personal aspirations for how Fair Pay Agreements could be used to help address some of these problems.

Episode 2: What are Fair Pay AgreementsTo create a better world of work, it's something we need to do together and in today's episode, we will discuss a HUGE opportunity. Fair Pay Agreements are a massive opportunity for workers to fundamentally redefine work in New Zealand.Fair Pay Agreements are a new mechanism for workers to get together across industries or occupations and set the minimum standards for their work. Through the process of Fair Pay Agreements, workers and employers can come ...

To create a better world of work, it's something we need to do together and in today's episode, we will discuss how we can do that. By ourselves our voices can be small, but when we come together, our voices are strong and heard. A union is a group of workers, who have joined together to improve their workplaces. It is a democratic organisation of working people. When you join a union and pay your union fees, you join with other workers to improve things like pay and conditio...

Aotearoa's Opportunity Podcast examines the potential that Fair Pay Agreements offer to improve the lives of everyday workers and create a more prosperous and equitable society.