Launch in new window

Hybrid Rose - Take Me Out (feat. Ryan The God) [Young Gho$t Flip]

You are here

Supermarket workers bargain for Fair Pay Agreements

December 5, 2022

Interview by Hanna Thompson, adapted by Joe Wickins

Nerissa Harding, a supermarket worker and organiser with the Council of Trade Unions says that with living costs soaring, supermarket workers are struggling to keep up with inflation. Photo: Unsplash. 

Listen to the full interview

Supermarket workers began initiating Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) via their union on Thursday.

The initiation process for a FPA requires a minimum of 1000 signatures or 10% of the total workers in an industry to register their support for negotiating an industry-wide agreement between unions and employers that would set minimum wages and conditions in an industry.

Supermarket worker are bargaining for wage increases in line with rising inflation, along with wage progression, and improved health and safety standards. 

While FPAs have garnered significant opposition from business associations and the parliamentary right, the mood among supermarket workers is one of excitement, solidarity, and hope for future generations. 

Nerissa Harding, a supermarket worker and organiser with the Council of Trade Unions told 95bFM's The Wire that FPAs mean workers will have a better quality of life. 

“Supermarket workers are bargaining for higher wages so that they can afford the cost of inflation, and also for the health and safety of our workers so that we can do our jobs effectively and feel appreciated by the government and our country.”

With living costs soaring, supermarket workers are struggling to keep up with inflation.

“Personally, the living wages have taken a toll on my financial status, and as a young person, trying to live independently while working and, for some, even studying at the same time, it makes it hard when everything you are trying to pay for is at absurd prices,” said Harding. 

Council of Trade Unions, Te Kauae Kaimahi, president Richard Wagstaff said the initiations of FPAs will help lift conditions for workers across entire industries.” 

“FPAs represent a new beginning for working people, and the restoration of their rights."

Hospitality workers and bus drivers have also begun their FPAs this week. 

Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air