Fairness at Work

TERTIARY EDUCATION UNION Te Haut큰 Kahurangi o Aotearoa

Contact us: 0800 278 348 teu@teu.ac.nz www.teu.ac.nz

Fairness at Work means: Trusting and giving us a chance to show we want to do the job just as much as our boss wants it done. Officious requirements for doctors’ certificates when we have a one-day cold that would just infect the rest of the workplace don’t help productivity. Neither does taking away our right to lunch and tea breaks, nor not being able to look after our sick kids. It’s simply unfair and mean-spirited.

The CTU and affiliate unions like us here at TEU are running a campaign to promote fairness at work.

Protecting our right to appeal against unfair dismissal in the first 90 days of a new job. Nobody supports bad workers, but people should not be sacked for no reason, or worse, a bad reason.

Fairness at work is about the basic rights we all have as workers to respect, safe employment conditions, and the chance to spend time with friends and family. It’s about workers working hard, but also knowing our work is respected, fairly paid, safe, and family-friendly.

Protecting our publicly owned accident compensation system. We all deserve the right to be compensated for workplace injuries and accidents. New Zealand’s ACC scheme is world respected and highly cost effective. Cuts to ACC coverage or opening it up to private insurance can only undermine the coverage and protection we currently have.

In these tough times it’s about putting people in real jobs and, just as importantly, making sure we keep people in jobs. It’s about working together to build strong communities and workplaces where everyone has a fair chance to earn a living safely. www.fairness.org.nz

Guaranteeing 4 weeks annual leave for everyone. Currently all workers are entitled to four weeks annual leave. If, as the government proposes, one of those weeks is put up for sale, workers with the least bargaining power will lose out. Annual leave is an important chance for people to spend time with family, friends and community.

Protecting our right to see our union representatives at our workplace. Workers deserve the right to talk to an independent union official at our workplace.

Good employers have nothing to lose, and much to gain, from their employees getting timely independent advice and support from a democratic union.