Unions: About Us, Joining a Union

Joining a Union

Unions exist for workers to support each other so that they don’t have to face a problem, or negotiate improvements to their working conditions, on their own.  When workers act together they have strength and safety in numbers and have a better chance of getting what they need at work and beyond.

Unions are democratically run by their members.  Union members elect union representatives (delegates) from workplaces, and make decisions on things like how the union is run, and what to focus on when negotiating with the employer.

Though the NZ Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, unions work co-operatively with other unions to improve the position of all New Zealand workers. The benefits most workers receive today are largely the result of what unions have gained in improvements to their members' wages, benefits and working conditions over the last 100 years.

Join a union online here.  Or you can find out what union covers workers in your occupation or industy.

About the Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi brings together over 350,000 New Zealand union members in 40 affiliated unions.  We are the united voice for working people and their families in New Zealand. 

Te Runanga o nga Kaimahi Maori - representative body for Maori workers whose unions are affiliated to the Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi.

CTU Affiliates - unions affiliated to the Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi.  Union Vacancies - work for a New Zealand union.

Representative Structures: CTU Women -- Komiti Pasefika -- Out@Work Network -- Youth Union Movement

Unions Local - CTU organising groups in different regions in New Zealand

CTU Organising Centre - coordinates the CTU education and organising work

Council of Trade Union people -- What the CTU stands for -- Union History -- Contact Us