Latest news with #Etū
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Budget 2025 A Betrayal Of Working People
E tū, Aotearoa's largest private sector union, is condemning Budget 2025 as a direct attack on working people, particularly women in frontline care and community services. The Government has slashed nearly $13 billion that would have gone to pay equity claims, gutting the mechanism that ensures fair pay for women in undervalued, female-dominated sectors like care and support. These cuts will pay for their Budget which includes tax breaks for businesses. 'This Budget is a theft of wages from women,' says E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh. 'The Government is paying for its corporate handouts by stealing from the pockets of caregivers, teacher aides, and social workers. It's a cynical, calculated betrayal.' The pay equity changes, rushed through under urgency, have extinguished 33 active claims and raised the bar so high that future claims may be impossible. 'The Government has made it clear: if you're a woman in a caring profession, they don't care about you.' The Budget also halves the Government's contribution to KiwiSaver, dropping the maximum from $521 to just $260.72 per year. 'This is a short-sighted move that undermines the retirement security of working people. It's a massive barrier to building a future where everyone can retire with dignity.' Public broadcasting has also been targeted, with RNZ facing an $18 million cut over four years. 'At a time when misinformation is rampant, gutting our public broadcaster is a dangerous step backwards. It looks like the Government is afraid of real scrutiny from the fourth estate.' Other cuts include the full means-testing of the Best Start child payment, tighter welfare rules for young people, and the removal of pay equity funding for community and iwi providers. 'This Budget punishes the people who hold our communities together. It's not about fiscal responsibility, it's about ideological cruelty.' E tū is calling on the Government to reverse these cuts and engage in genuine dialogue with workers, unions, and communities. 'We will not stand by while the Government dismantles the foundations of fairness in Aotearoa. This fight is far from over.'
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
E Tū Union – Mischievous Or Misinformed?
Press Release – Aged Care Association Aged care is a complex environment, but at its core, the financial relationship is between Health New Zealand and the individual New Zealander who needs care. The E tū union is either being deliberately mischievous or is seriously misinformed about how aged residential care works in New Zealand, says Aged Care Association Chief Executive Hon. Tracey Martin. The Post published a story last week based on a report titled Transparency and Corporate Tax Reforms to Improve the Efficiency of Aged Residential Care Funding, which has not been made public. 'To level public accusations based on an unreleased document, one that neither the targeted provider nor the public can scrutinise, is not only duplicitous but unethical.' says Ms Martin. It is disappointing that E tū has chosen to spend time and money on what appears to be a flawed report, in an attempt to bully a particular provider into ceasing a change consultation process with their staff. Without access to the full report, the Association can only respond to the comments attributed to the report's authors and the union. The claim that aged care providers may not be using government money appropriately is either a complete misunderstanding of how aged residential care is funded or a deliberate manipulation of the facts to push an alternative agenda. Aged care is a complex environment, but at its core, the financial relationship is between Health New Zealand and the individual New Zealander who needs care. Providers meet rigorous standards to be eligible to deliver aged residential care services to New Zealanders who are funded directly by the Crown. The Aged Care Association had hoped for a more constructive relationship with E tū for the benefit of their members and ours, based on shared recognition that the funding model for the provision of aged care to senior New Zealanders is fundamentally broken and must be addressed with urgency. The time and resource spent on this report would have been better directed toward advocating for an independent, cross-party taskforce (including union representation), to design a fit-for-purpose aged care funding model that delivers greater transparency for all, including everyday taxpayers. Notes: Funding for aged residential care is allocated as follows: – Aged care providers are certified by government agency HealthCert as meeting criteria to deliver specific levels of care – e.g. Rest Home, Hospital, Dementia, or Psychogeriatric care. – Certification does not entitle providers to any guaranteed funding. It simply confirms that they meet the required standards to deliver care, such as the required staff and facilities. – Providers are subject to regular audits (both scheduled and unannounced) by independent auditors approved by HealthCert. – Many of the standards audited relate directly to staffing levels, and the sector overwhelmingly respects and adheres to the voluntary safe staffing levels agreed with Government. When a New Zealand senior is assessed by a NASC (Needs Assessment and Service Coordination) team as needing residential care, the Ministry of Social Development reviews their financial situation. If they qualify for support: – They must first contribute their own income (e.g. superannuation or assets). – The Government then tops up the difference between what they can afford and a capped amount that can be charged by any residential care provider for the provision of that care, with the capped amount set by the Director-General of Health. – The individual and their whānau choose the care provider they wish to deliver that care to them. – All financial agreements around the provision of care are between the government and the New Zealander needing care. None of our members receive a bulk grant from government or have a direct financial contract with government.
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Bupa Under Scrutiny For Tax Practices As Workers Face Cuts
A new report from E tū and international tax watchdog CICTAR has raised serious questions about whether aged care giant Bupa is shifting profits offshore to avoid paying its fair share of tax in Aotearoa. E tū is calling for urgent reform and transparency in aged residential care funding, following the revelations that Bupa – the country's second-largest provider – has paid just $12 million in income tax over the past decade, despite reporting nearly $300 million in profits. 'We spend billions of dollars each year on aged residential care, but there is very little transparency about whether that money supports decent jobs for workers, and decent care for residents, or simply subsidises corporate profits,' says Edward Miller, researcher with the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR). 'Our research suggests that over the last decade, Bupa earned $3.3 billion in revenue and $293 million in profit, but only paid a total of $12 million in income tax – an effective tax rate of just four percent. 'In addition, a major intercompany loan appears to have reduced their taxable income by $150 million over the last decade. That could have cost Aotearoa up to $27 million in lost tax revenue over that period.' E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh says the report reveals a disturbing pattern. 'At the same time as Bupa is sending tens of millions overseas in interest payments on questionable debts to other Bupa subsidiaries, they're pushing through dangerous new rosters that cut hours and destabilise care,' Rachel says. 'Care workers are rightly asking whether Bupa is putting tax planning ahead of providing safe, decent care for residents. In 2023, for instance, Bupa made $12 million in pre-tax profit but paid just $11,000 in corporate tax – that's about what a Level 4 care worker pays.' Rachel says while more funding is urgently needed for the sector, companies must also be held to account. 'We need increased investment in aged care, but with it must come transparency. New Zealanders deserve to know their taxes are going to support quality care, not just boost overseas profits. 'It's time to put the wellbeing of our elderly and those who care for them at the centre of this system.'
Scoop
04-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
E Tū Union - Mischievous Or Misinformed?
The E tū union is either being deliberately mischievous or is seriously misinformed about how aged residential care works in New Zealand, says Aged Care Association Chief Executive Hon. Tracey Martin. The Post published a story last week based on a report titled Transparency and Corporate Tax Reforms to Improve the Efficiency of Aged Residential Care Funding, which has not been made public. "To level public accusations based on an unreleased document, one that neither the targeted provider nor the public can scrutinise, is not only duplicitous but unethical." says Ms Martin. It is disappointing that E tū has chosen to spend time and money on what appears to be a flawed report, in an attempt to bully a particular provider into ceasing a change consultation process with their staff. Without access to the full report, the Association can only respond to the comments attributed to the report's authors and the union. The claim that aged care providers may not be using government money appropriately is either a complete misunderstanding of how aged residential care is funded or a deliberate manipulation of the facts to push an alternative agenda. Aged care is a complex environment, but at its core, the financial relationship is between Health New Zealand and the individual New Zealander who needs care. Providers meet rigorous standards to be eligible to deliver aged residential care services to New Zealanders who are funded directly by the Crown. The Aged Care Association had hoped for a more constructive relationship with E tū for the benefit of their members and ours, based on shared recognition that the funding model for the provision of aged care to senior New Zealanders is fundamentally broken and must be addressed with urgency. The time and resource spent on this report would have been better directed toward advocating for an independent, cross-party taskforce (including union representation), to design a fit-for-purpose aged care funding model that delivers greater transparency for all, including everyday taxpayers. Notes: Funding for aged residential care is allocated as follows: - Aged care providers are certified by government agency HealthCert as meeting criteria to deliver specific levels of care - e.g. Rest Home, Hospital, Dementia, or Psychogeriatric care. - Certification does not entitle providers to any guaranteed funding. It simply confirms that they meet the required standards to deliver care, such as the required staff and facilities. - Providers are subject to regular audits (both scheduled and unannounced) by independent auditors approved by HealthCert. - Many of the standards audited relate directly to staffing levels, and the sector overwhelmingly respects and adheres to the voluntary safe staffing levels agreed with Government. When a New Zealand senior is assessed by a NASC (Needs Assessment and Service Coordination) team as needing residential care, the Ministry of Social Development reviews their financial situation. If they qualify for support: - They must first contribute their own income (e.g. superannuation or assets). - The Government then tops up the difference between what they can afford and a capped amount that can be charged by any residential care provider for the provision of that care, with the capped amount set by the Director-General of Health. - The individual and their whānau choose the care provider they wish to deliver that care to them. - All financial agreements around the provision of care are between the government and the New Zealander needing care. None of our members receive a bulk grant from government or have a direct financial contract with government.
