PSA and Workers First Union write to PM
urging him to investigate Winston Peters over false claims
about unions
The PSA and Workers First Union have
today written to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon alleging
that New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters has made false
claims in breach of the Cabinet Office Manual that the
unions failed to consult with his party earlier enough in
their efforts to get his party to vote against the Fire at
Will / Uber Bill.
The unions have released their
letter to the Prime Minister (attached) which sets out the
facts of the lengthy attempts they made from 2024 to just
days before the Bill was passed last week to persuade NZ
First to vote against the most anti-worker Bill in
decades.
Last week Winston
Peters told RNZ NZ First could have stopped the Fire at
Will / Uber Bill if unions had approached him earlier. The
party failed to vote against the Employment Relations
Amendment Bill or put forward any amendments to the Bill,
which passed its Third Reading on Tuesday despite his party
indicating ‘tweaks’ were coming during the Second
Reading debate.
“Winston Peters and New Zealand First
betrayed workers by voting for the most anti worker
legislation in over 50 years and he had the gall to falsely
blame unions for not engaging with him earlier. The facts
are clear, as laid out in our letter to the Prime Minister –
we had several constructive engagements with NZ First,” said
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
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“We remain
adamant that the facts were laid out to the party clearly,
and early, but NZ First chose to side with ACT and National
despite its claims to be a party that cares about workers,”
said Fitzsimons.
“Uber drivers and our union had many
constructive meetings with New Zealand First over the last
18 months, and we warned them repeatedly of the damage that
Brooke van Velden’s law change would wreak on New Zealand.
Winston Peters’ false claims to the contrary show that he is
full of hot air and should apologise for his untrue
statements or front up to Uber drivers and explain himself,”
said Dennis Maga, General Secretary Workers First
Union.
The unions say Mr Peters has clearly breached
the Conduct of Ministers provisions in the Cabinet Manual,
as set out in paragraph 2.56, which states that Ministers,
at all times, including in their political capacity must
uphold the ‘highest ethical and behavioural
standards’.
“As we say in the letter to the Prime
Minister, ‘we cannot accept that any reasonable
interpretation of paragraph 2.56 would find that it is
acceptable conduct for a Minister to wilfully misrepresent
the facts in order to show others in an unfavourable
light’. When Hon Judith Collins made inaccurate comments
about teacher salaries, she appropriately corrected herself
and apologised which is needed here too,” said
Fitzsimons.
“Unions need to have constructive
relationships with all parties, no matter their colours, and
at times we will disagree as we do over the Employment
Relations Amendment Bill. But we can’t abide a party
leader, a senior Minister, and one as experienced as Mr
Peters, deliberately misrepresenting the facts,” said Dennis
Maga.
“NZ First put the business interests of their
coalition partners over the interests of workers in voting
for this draconian Bill, despite our best efforts over many
months to persuade NZ First to back workers, not the ACT
Party.
“NZ First were more than capable of drafting
their own amendments to the Bill since its introduction, and
they have a taxpayer-funded Parliamentary office and policy
unt and under their coalition agreements they could have and
should have simply voted this exploitative law down,” said
Maga.
“We urge Christopher Luxon to take this matter
seriously, meet with us and investigate Mr Peters over this
clear breach of Cabinet rules. Truth must be the gold
standard in modern politics,” said Fleur
Fitzsimons.
Note:
The PSA and Workers First
Union letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is here.
