As NZCTU Biennial looms – Unions must keep striking to be culturally, politically and economically relevant
CTU Biennial Conference 2025
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi will hold its 20th Biennial Conference next week, 29-30 October, at Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.
President opening address and policy announcement
9am-9.40am, Wednesday 29 October 2025
Oceania Conference Venue, Te Papa
Richard Wagstaff will give his final speech as NZCTU President and will announce the NZCTU’s flagship pre-election employment relations policy.
NZ Labour Party speech
1pm-1.45pm, Wednesday 29 October 2025
Oceania Conference Venue, Te Papa
Rt. Hon. Chris Hipkins will address the conference.
Green Party of Aotearoa speech
3.30pm-4pm, Wednesday 29 October 2025
Oceania Conference Venue, Te Papa
Hon. Marama Davidson will address the conference.
Mihi whakatau for new officers
8.45am-9.30am, Thursday 30 October 2025
Rangimarie Rooms, Te Papa
Incoming President Sandra Grey and incoming Māori Vice President Aubrey Wilkinson will be welcomed with a mihi whakatau and will give their first remarks in their new roles.
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi will hold its 20th Biennial Conference this week, 29-30 October, at Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington and for the first time since Helen Kelly’s death, the NZ Union movement has direction.
Instead of lawfare to progress Worker rights, they have had to learn that Mega Strikes are the only force left to them when facing a Right Wing Government this extreme.
That’s the reality Union Members and Union Leaders have had to comprehend when facing a Government led by ACT Party lunatics who have no interest in good faith relationships with Unions.
They are here to destroy Worker Rights, not protect them.
This Government represents a full scale attack on public services, and the Unions and their menbers need to understand that they are NOT on the streets simply demanding their interests, they are on the streets fighting for an egalitarian NZ whose infrastructure is built upon those well funded public services.
You are fighting for a NZ that stands for the many, not the few!
You are fighting for a NZ that is not led by right wing astro turf organisations!
You are fighting for a NZ beyond the thrall of corporations, speculators and polluters!
You are fighting for OUR NZ and you need to be ready to step up that battle in the election year because this fight IS political, cultural and economic!
Judith, Luxon, Simeon, Erica all cry out the Unions are being political OF COURSE THEY ARE!
They are the last line of defence for a public service that has been neutered and robbed and underfunded as a political decision.
This idea that Unions aren’t supposed rot be political is a noose put on us by the Right as they actively engage in political hit jobs.
Stand at the 20th Biennial Conference!
Stand up for the values of Labour Day!
Stand for an Egalitarian NZ!
There is no negotiating with this…
…and when Government tell you they don’t have the money to properly fund our Public Service, remember this…
…and remember this…
…stand and make Helen Kelly proud!
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…Unions must keep striking to be culturally, politically and economically relevant
By Martyn Bradbury -October 28, 2025
The Unions need to get political.
They need to start taking up political issues, they need to start taking solidarity strikes to support the health workers, and teachers.
The unions need to get poltical or become irrelevant.
The lessons of America.
The USA is in a government shutdown, the Truimp administration wants to gut the government, they want to cut social services they don’t care if all these services remain closed forever.
The Trump administration doesn’t care they represent the billionaires who have the money to buy all the health care and services they need.
The same with the Luxon administration here, they don’t care if the public health system is run down and underfunded, they like it if the Drs and Nurses and teachers are forced to stop work, because they can afford all the private healthcare they can afford to pay the fees to send their children to private Schools.
The Luxon adminstration represents millionaires, the less they can spend on public services the more they can give to landlords and millionaires in tax cuts.
The Unions need to get political, or lose public services.
The lessons of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe once had the best public health system in Africa. Under instruction from the IMF the Mugabe adminstration started slashing public healths system budgets, The nurses and Drs struck. As far as Mugabe was concerned the Drs. and Nurses could stay on strike forever. Mugabe didn’t care, when he got cancer he flew to get treated in the US private hospital system. The Mugabe administration saw public health as a cost. The Zimbabwe unions in the private mining sector that were the main source of government income could have put real pressure on the Mugabe adminstration, could have used their leverage to strike in support to the Nurses and Drs. They didn’t, and the Zimbabwe public health system was ruined.
The lesson of Zimbabwe is when Drs. and Nurses go on strike they must be supported by strikes by the industrial sector unions where the New Zealand millionaires make their money.
In New Zealand solidarity strikes are illegal, the unions need to get political and defy the ban on solidarity strikes.
The unions need to get political to recover their right to strike
The lessons of Italy
The unions of Italy called a general strike to support the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza when they were attacked in international waters by the IDF. And forced the right wing pro-Israel Meloni administration to send an Italian warship to protect the flotilla in international waters.
In New Zealand political strikes are illegal, unions need to defy the ban on political strikes, and by so doing regain their right to strike which are currently limited and curtailed, and completely illegal during the period of an employment contract, no matter what union busting actions an employer may take.
The unions need to get political to remain relevant
The lessons of New Zealand
When nuclear ships entered our ports the unions struck.
When Muldoon administration tried to subdivide Bastion Pt. the unions imposed a Green Ban.
The unions need to support the Students strike for the climate with solidarity strikes to help them save the environment.
in 1975 when General Pinochet overthrew the government of Chile and imposed a fascist regime on the Chilian people the FOL imposed a union ban on all trade with Chile.
At this CTU Biennial Conference the delegates need to vote to put a union ban on all trade with Israel to stop New Zealand complicity in genocide.
At this CTU Biennial Conference the delegates need to vote to support any future teachers Drs. and Nurses strikes with solidarity strikes, or lose the public health system.
At this CTU Biennial Conference the delegates need to vote to break out of their legal straightjacket and regain the right to strike on the issues importent to them.
Im right October 28, 2025 At 8:27 am
“Another thread from TDB you will take over Pat?, with your usual cut n paste posts from other sites, and cherry picked comments from those sites!….how many today, on this thread?”
To answer your question, I’m right. For this thread exactly, 1.
I cut and pasted Martyn Bradbury’s headline to support and enlarge on the argument he was making. Just as I have done here, with your comment, better to counter and dismiss the argument you are making.
As for taking over the thread you are free to write whatever you want. My guess is, you have got nothing sensible to add to this post or any other.
By the way ‘Im right’ l use cut and paste of references to back the argument I am trying to make. using evidential proofs and and quotes and links to other sources to back up my argument..
This is accepted journalistic practice older than the internet.
So what? if I back up my argument with quotes and links and citations, cut and pasted from other sources? That I can and do cite sources to back up my argument really seems to piss you off.
It makes it so much harder for you and people like you to dispute the central content of what I write.
Something I notice you never do.
I am sure that you would much prefer that I just pulled facts out of thin air, and made shit up, maybe that would make it easier for you to dispute, with me.
Too bad that I make it so hard for you to dismiss what I am saying.
Which raises a question, why do you choose to never dispute the content of what I write and instead criticise the form?
My guess is you are unable to, you have no counter argument, you can not dispute with what I have written here or anywhere else and it really pisses you off.
You lack of a counter argument confirms I’m right, not you.
So thanks for your lack of counter arguement which I regard as an endorsement.
P.S. When all writing was hard copy, foot notes and appendices is where writers referred readers to their proofs, and sources. If they could have simply cut and pasted those citations I bet they would have.
Another thread from TDB you will troll over today IR. How many today 4-5-6?
Bicentennial = 200 year anniversary.
Might want to fix your headline, martyn.