Kia ora ,
As we informed in the last member newsletter, we have received an offer from Te Whatu Ora that falls considerably short in addressing the claims made by Te Whatu Ora members in their collective agreement negotiations.
As a result we will be holding stop work union meetings in the week 29 May to 2 June so Te Whatu Ora members can collectively discuss both the offer and the next steps in the bargaining process. Organisers have been working with delegates to identify suitable times and locations to help ensure everyone has the opportunity to attend a meeting.
Note: Stop work union meetings are a right union members have under Section 26 of the Employment Relations Act and Clause 21 of the MECA. Union members have the right to attend a properly notified union meeting on ordinary pay if they would otherwise be working. Te Whatu Ora has been officially notified that these meetings are taking place.
Two other important points to note are that:
- the Act requires us to make arrangements with the employer to ensure that the employer’s business is maintained during any union meeting
- we must provide the employer with a list of all those who attended a stop work meeting.
Some of these meetings will be held offsite. They will be an hour in duration but because they are Section 26 stop work meetings you have a right of travel time (up to half hour) either side of the meeting to attend. Where meetings are onsite travel time may not be included.
It is crucial we have high attendance at these meetings to send a strong message to Te Whatu Ora about how people feel about the offer.
The schedule of meetings is available at the Maranga Mai! website. When you have chosen which meeting to attend, please click the corresponding link in the table to register so we know how many people to expect.
We will be adding more meetings from outside the main centres later this week so please don’t worry if there isn’t one scheduled near you just yet.
Shortly we will be sending the offer to you along with some supporting documentation so you can have the information you need well before the meetings.
Paul Goulter, Chief Executive
NZNO Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa