Service & Food Workers Union

SFWU Nga Ringa Tota

Service & Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota
Merged into	E tū
Dissolved	October 2015
Headquarters	Auckland, New Zealand
Location	New Zealand
Members	23,000+
Key people	John Ryall, National Secretary
Affiliations	NZCTU, Labour Party
Website	www.sfwu.org

A car with the livery of the Service & Food Workers Union

The Service & Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota (SFWU) was a trade union in New Zealand. It was affiliated with the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and the New Zealand Labour Party.

The SFWU was organised into five industry sectors:

• Age Care, Disability, Health & Community Services
• Catering, Cleaning and Contract Services
• Clerical, Administration & Technical Services
• Food & Beverage Manufacturing & Processing
• Hospitality, Tourism & Entertainment Services

The Service & Food Workers Union filed a case with the Employment Court against Terranova, a rest home operator, in relation to allegations that it paid its caregivers lower wages that it would otherwise pay if its work force was not predominantly made up of women.[1] The case went all the way to the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, where it was upheld in 2015. The government then took it on itself to negotiate a settlement, which was announced in April 2017 as "the largest pay increase in New Zealand's history".[2]

In October 2015, the Service & Food Workers Union merged with the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union to form E tū.[3]

References

1. "Terranova Homes & Care v SFWU - appeal dismissed". Scoop. Independent News Media. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
2. Davison, Isaac (18 April 2017). "Government announces historic pay equity deal for care workers". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
3. "Union merger brings 50,000 together". Wairarapa Times-Age. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2017.

External links

• Official website