The SFWU National Conference was off to a cracking start yesterday with song, laughter and determination to do better for SFWU members, their families, their communities and their fellow workers worldwide.
The conference theme Justice for All – Pass it on! Kia hora te tika tangata. Kia ita! was discussed by delegates in a DVD presentation and also in two speeches from Vice-President Muriel Tunoho and SFWU Pacific Convenor Lalopua Sanele.
Muriel spoke of the struggle of Auckland’s Ngati Whatua for justice and Lalopua Sanele spoke of the quest for security by Pacific workers migrating to New Zealand for jobs.
One by one the delegates repeated support for the SFWU programme of developing a union that was not just about setting up a privileged club of SFWU members, but was focussed on winning justice for all workers.
NZCTU Secretary Peter Conway reiterated this theme by describing the struggles that the union movement had been involved in around creating a nuclear-free New Zealand, support for Ngati Whatua and other Maori struggles and even the struggles of SFWU aged care and disability support workers that involved improving the quality of services for older people and those with disabilities
The US Service Employees International Union Vice-President, Eliseo Medina, noted that winning justice for workers worldwide was not easy to achieve but with the internationalisation of capitalist enterprises it was an imperative for the union movement.
He urged greater co-operation between unions such as SEIU, LHMU and SFWU internationally to target companies that were operating in each others countries and were preventing workers have a collective say in their workplaces and across their industries.
To finish the day Labour Deputy Leader Annette King presented certificates to a number of outstanding workplace delegates who have been involved in the SFWU Delegates as Educators programme.
We also presented a life membership to long-time official and activist Shane Vugler, who has retired from the union to job share with partner and Labour MP Sue Moroney. Shane, the advocate for our recent public hospitals national MECA, richly deserved this honour.
More of the conference soon.
