Kerri Nuku, Kaiwhakahaere
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO

Earlier this month, I was fortunate to be nominated as one of the New Zealand delegates to attend the International Labour Organisations 111th conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. Along with Annie Newman we represented workers as part of the Council of Trade Unions.

The International Labour Organisations (ILO) role will be developing develop international labour organisation standards. The development and drafting of international standards are incredibly challenging as the chair of the drafting aims to reach a consensus agreement across the tripartite members – workers, governments and employees. Reaching agreement embedding the protection of fundamental rights to collective bargaining and freedom of association into international standards was always going to require stamina.

I represented the Asia/Western Pacific drafting of the ILO guidelines for a “Just Transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all”, the purpose was to develop policies providing consistency across four interrelated areas – namely promoting inclusiveness, sustainability, job rich economies and advancing social justice and managing the process of a Just Transition, and financially supporting Just Transition.

Just transition is a framework developed by the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers’ rights, health and safety and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating climate change and protecting biodiversity and planetary heath .

While the council of trade unions and NZ Ministry of Business and Innovation have done much work in this space it would be fair to say that not all the members states have and therefore safeguarding industrial policy provisions, therefore imposes on the rights and obligations of governments and employers. This led to very hearty and at times childlike behaviours. However, and possibly more important is the role and responsibility of ILO to how ILO would be accountable to strengthen the capacities of government, employers, and worker organisations.  Both designs, implement, monitor comprehensive, gender transformative policies and strategies for a Just Transitions within countries.

While I gained a greater appreciation for the geopolitical context and the international instruments and mechanisms of the ILO, there is no disputing that whether at a regional, national, or international level workers must continue to fight to retain their fundamental rights.

The framework of a Just transition on nurses relates directly to the Five Fixes that NZNO has identified under Maranga Mai! Every nurse everywhere.

The ILO definition Greening the economy in a way that is fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities, and leaving no-one behind.

Our five fixes include:

1. Te Tiriti actualised within and across the health system
2. More nurses across the health system
3. Pay and conditions that meet nurses’ value and expectations
4. More people training to be nurses
5. More Māori and Pasifika nurses

Maranga Mai!