Summarised by Centrist
Rival unions for teachers, nurses, and doctors have emerged in New Zealand. Leadership figures of these unions, including Teachers’ Professional Association of New Zealand‘s (TPANZ) president Rachael Mortimer, have been vocal opponents of COVID vaccine mandates and have ties to groups like Voices for Freedom and Nurses for Freedom.
TPANZ has conducted recruitment sessions in senior school staff rooms, advocating for a cheaper alternative to established unions.
Chris Dekker, secretary of the nurses union NPANZ says the three new unions say they’ve already signed on about 500 members.
Joining these new unions requires leaving existing collective bargaining agreements, as they lack negotiating arrangements with the ministries of Education and Health.
Stuff reports that Dekkar says existing unions are too political and did not represent their members’ interests well on a range of fronts “including, but not limited to during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Backed by an Australian movement called ‘Red Unions,’ denounced as “fake unions” by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, these groups have registered as official trade unions but are not part of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.
Editor’s Note: Regardless of COVID issues, the formation of new unions presents a choice to these professions and offers competition to the current union monopolies.
