Over 100 mainly tomato hot-house gardeners and distribution workers will walk off the job for 24 hours (4am Monday 24th to 4am Tuesday 25th) over bleak pay and the company refusing to come to the table to address worker's concerns. Workers at the nine striking sites will also picket each main site; the five Auckland sites gathering at the Favona site and an individual picket at every other site outside of Auckland (Ohaupo, Reporoa, Palmerston North and Christchurch). The pickets will begin at 7am, media are invited to attend. Bargaining began in February with FIRST Union workers seeking a national agreement to save time and money for both parties and a raise to the Living Wage due to the unlivable pay packets workers are currently struggling to survive on (most workers are currently on minimum wage or just above this). However the company is refusing to return to the negotiation table unless workers agree to abandon talks over a national agreement.This is the same company that just last year attempted to defend its belief that irrigation water was suitable drinking water for its workers. FIRST Union and the workers eventually won the right to a supply of safe drinking water to the parched workers. FIRST Union lead organiser Denise Roche says it’s disappointing the company hasn’t learnt its lesson.“It’s basic human dignity that most children are taught. Turners & Growers needs to be reminded to respect and value its workers. That’s what this strike’s about; respecting human dignity and valuing hard-working people.” Ms Roche says it’s also a prime example of why employment law legislation on the duty to conclude is so desperately needed by workers.“The company has no respect for workers’ concerns, the duty to conclude means employers such as T&G must talk with workers on all of their concerns, not only the ones the company wishes to speak about.”

Air New Zealand and innovative footwear brand Allbirds have joined forces to take the best of New Zealand around the globe, bringing added comfort to the inflight experience with an intelligently designed eye mask to help customers sleep better and wake up fresh.

Gross Domestic Product statistics out today are further evidence that business commentators’ attempts to darken economic and political confidence are out of step with reality, Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff says.

The rigorous process to look at the risks around the three re-entry options being considered for the Pike River Mine has turned up no “showstoppers”, Pike River Recovery Agency Chief Executive Dave Gawn says.

E tū says its support for NZ Steel’s complaint of steel-dumping by China has been vindicated by a High Court ruling directing MBIE to reinvestigate.

Amazon dipping its toes into the insurance market in India may likely have ripples effects for New Zealand, which is seen as a test bed for large organisations looking to try something new. FintechNZ general manager James Brown says insurers in New Zealand hold over $20 billion in assets and over $15 billion in liabilities which are not insignificant amounts. “What this clearly demonstrates is that we are ripe for new emerging technologies. “This decision by Amazon is a serious move by one of the biggest global tech firms and is an indication that they are going after large markets with an insurance licence application already in. “They have been in India for a while with the Amazon pay app, so they are clearly using this as a test bed. “Insurance has, in the past, been slower to react than the banking world however, it looks like it will need to get its running shoes on with this announcement. “Amazon’s Indian decision is expected to be worth $US280 billion by the year 2020,” Brown says. The e-commerce giant is starting in India with life, health and general insurance products. The Seattle-based retail and technology company giant is aware there is a lot of room to expand in Indian market’s current financial climate, Brown says. “Other tech businesses are also targeting the world’s second-most populated country. Walmart-backed Flipkart has applied for a licence to sell life and general insurance, while Paytm, which is backed by Asian giants Alibaba and Softbank, already has a corporate agency licence. “We are certain Amazon’s move will be a point of discussion at the annual New Zealand fintech summit on November 29. “As the New Zealand reputation for innovations in fintech and insurtech continues to grow, we expect international investors to attend the summit in November to discover and connect with our own fintech innovators. The UK is looking to a services-based free trade agreement post-Brexit which could add up to 20 percent to New Zealand’s GDP, based on Treasury statistics,” Brown says.

Seequent, a developer of revolutionary visual data science software, has been recognised for its global expansion and continued innovation success as the winner of the Supreme Award for medium-large enterprise at last night’s Westpac Champion Business Awards 2018. Seequent also won the Lyttelton Port Company Champion Exporter Medium/Large Award.

The Council of Trade Unions today welcomed the interim report of the Tax Working Group which pointed to some obvious fixes to make New Zealand more fair and equal.

A capital gains tax on the sale of investment property, businesses, shares and other assets such as farms is a step closer if the interim report of the Tax Working Group leads to firm recommendations in its final report next February

Victoria University of Wellington’s Council is expected to make a final decision next Monday (24 September) on a proposal to change the University’s legal name to ‘University of Wellington’.