NUPE Applauds $41M Government Investment in Oranga Tamariki Staff Training

Last week, Minister for Children Karen Chhour announced a major funding boost: $41 million allocated to upskill frontline staff in Oranga Tamariki (OT) youth care homes. NUPE applauds the allocation of funding and will be meeting with OT leaders to understand the detail of what this upskill will look like in real terms.

Residential Services: Long Overlooked and Underfunded

This funding addresses a long-standing concern: OT’s residential services have often been neglected. A 2023 review identified workforce readiness as a major weakness, flagging staff as "relatively unskilled" in key areas. With cutbacks in recent years—including hundreds of job losses and reduced NGO partnerships—residential care settings have struggled to maintain safety due to staff retention issues, experience, training, supervision and a strong practice framework.

A Renewed Leadership Strategy

Under its new leadership, OT has crafted a refreshed strategy to reinforce safe, therapeutic residential services. Central to this plan is ensuring that there is strong recruitment, induction, and ongoing professional development. The $41M investment is a signal that the development of staff is a priority.

NUPE: Driving Change Through Advocacy

For years, the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) has insisted on the necessity of robust investment in residential workforce capability. NUPE has championed that only well-supported staff—who are confidently trained and valued—can deliver the safe, caring, and effective services OT strive to deliver.

“A safe, therapeutic service relies on staff being properly recruited, inducted, trained and developed—not only for their own professional growth but for the wellbeing of every child and young person in care.”

This recent funding announcement represents a hard-won victory for NUPE’s persistent advocacy. It demonstrates that government and agency leaders have heard NUPE’s calls and are willing to back them financially.

Next Steps: Turning Investment Into Action

NUPE will soon engage directly with OT senior leaders to clarify how the funding will be translated into real-world change. These discussions will focus on:

1. Training design — topics covered, standards set, delivery models

2. Implementation timelines — how soon programmes will begin, rollout phases

3. Access and equity — ensuring all residential staff have meaningful opportunities

4. Ongoing evaluation — how learning will be assessed and sustained

   
   

NUPE is determined to ensure this investment doesn’t remain a line on a page but becomes tangible improvements in care quality, safety, and staff wellbeing.

Celebrating Progress, Demanding Momentum

This $41M commitment marks a significant turning point in addressing the decades-long underinvestment in residential care services. Thanks to the combined force of NUPE’s advocacy and fresh OT leadership, Aotearoa is poised to deliver the professionally supported, therapeutic environments that our most vulnerable young people need—and deserve.

NUPE remains committed to accompanying this progress every step of the way. The real measure of success will be in the transformation of staff practice, the uplift in service quality, and the confidence and respect OT residential work deserves.

Residential staff are consistently under a lot of pressure. Young people in care come with high and complex needs and often volatile and dangerous behaviour. It is essential that staff are provided the resources, training and support they need to deliver the service safely.

Don’t Watch the Bees—Support Them

A Cautionary Tale for Employers

By Matt Glanville– The National Union of Public Employees

In the spirit of Dr. Seuss’s whimsical parable The Bee Watcher, there’s a valuable lesson employers would do well to remember—one that carries real weight for frontline workers across Aotearoa.

In the story, a hardworking bee suddenly finds himself under scrutiny. A bee-watcher is appointed to monitor his performance. Then a watcher is assigned to watch the watcher. Then another. Before long, everyone’s watching—but no one is working. The buzzing stops.

This is not just a cautionary tale for children. It's an allegory for the creeping danger of over-surveillance in the workplace—particularly in human services, care professions, and other high-stakes environments. Employers, often with good intentions, may implement layer upon layer of oversight in an attempt to improve performance, mitigate risk, or satisfy public accountability.

But if you're watching too hard, you forget to support. And when you forget to support, the work stops.

At NUPE, we represent frontline public employees who often work under extreme pressure.

These are the people who show up every day to care, intervene, guide, protect, and nurture in complex environments. They come with courage and compassion. Many of them step forward despite public scrutiny, systemic underfunding, high turnover, and known risk.

What we’re seeing now is the rise of what we call “The Bee-Watcher Syndrome”:

• New systems created to watch staff under the guise of ‘practice improvement.’

• Layers of oversight bodies—internal and external—whose monitoring risks creating paralysis instead of progress.

• A culture of mistrust, where anonymous complaints are entertained more readily than open dialogue.

• A focus on performance policing rather than professional development.

Let us be clear: accountability matters. Feedback matters. Young people, clients, and communities must be heard and protected. But surveillance must not come at the expense of support.

Oversight must never become overreach.

Instead of defaulting to scrutiny, we call on employers to invest in real workforce development:

• Deliver robust induction and training that builds confidence and capability.

• Provide regular, high-quality reflective supervision, not just audits.

• Enable coaching and mentorship that recognises experience and fosters growth.

• Ensure that internal systems protect not just those being served, but those doing the serving.

  
  

At a time when many services are struggling to retain staff, it is dangerous and short-sighted to replace support with suspicion. Monitoring without development breeds fear, not improvement.

Let the lesson of The Bee Watcher ring true:If you watch too hard, the work may stop.If you support and empower, the hive will thrive.

It’s time to stop building towers of watchers—and start building up the people doing the work.

Support the workers. Grow the workers. Trust the workers.Let the buzzing begin again.

⚠️ Radical Employment Bill Threatens Workers' Rights Across Aotearoa

A union perspective on Brooke van Velden’s Employment Relations Amendment Bill – and what you can do about it. A new private member’s bill tabled by ACT MP Brooke van Velden is threatening to dismantle core protections for working people across New Zealand.

Dubbed the Employment Relations (Reshaping Terms of the Employment Agreement) Amendment Bill, it’s being pushed under the guise of "flexibility"—but make no mistake: this is a corporate wishlist masquerading as reform.

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) has rightly sounded the alarm, calling on all political parties to vote the bill down before it does irreparable damage to our employment relations system.

As a union representing front-line workers, community service providers, hospitality and care staff, and thousands of others working hard under already stretched conditions, we cannot let this bill pass quietly. Here's why it matters—and what you can do to help stop it.

🚨 What's in the Bill?

The proposed legislation:

• Makes it harder for workers misclassified as contractors (like Uber drivers) to challenge their status and access minimum rights.

• Undermines personal grievance protections, meaning if you're unjustifiably dismissed, your options to seek fairness through the courts would be gutted.

• Removes the 30-day rule, which currently ensures new employees get the protection of collective agreements while they decide whether to join the union.

• Promotes a "fire at will" culture and accelerates casualisation and job insecurity—especially in sectors already reeling from staffing shortages and cuts.

  
  

This is a direct attack on union strength, legal remedies, and job security for everyone—whether you’re on a casual contract or permanent full-time.

🧱 Why It’s So Dangerous

This isn’t just about one sector. This is a systemic attempt to strip rights from all working people, hand power to corporate employers, and discourage collective voice.

Let’s be clear:

• It follows Uber’s lobbying playbook, aiming to protect exploitative business models that rely on misclassifying workers as “independent contractors.”

• It undermines the legal independence of the Employment Relations Authority and the courts, tying their hands in favour of employer power.

• It comes at a time when unemployment is rising, wages are stagnant, and workers are being asked to do more with less.

  
  

Instead of helping rebuild fairer work after COVID and recession, this bill sets the clock back decades.

🎙️ Has Government Consulted the Workers?

No. There’s been no genuine consultation with unions, workers, or communities most affected by this legislation. It’s another case of policymaking for corporate interests without democratic input.

For those of us in hospitality, youth services, care work, or creative industries, we already deal with insecure work and unfair dismissal risks daily. This bill makes those risks worse, removes legal protections, and erodes our ability to push back.

🛠️ What Can You Do? How to Have Your Say

If you’re a worker, union member, community ally, or just someone who believes in fairness—you can act. Here's how:

✅ 1. Submit Against the Bill

Once it reaches select committee, you’ll be able to make a submission. We’ll keep you updated with links and guides. Your voice matters.

✅ 2. Contact Your Local MP

Write, call, or visit your local MP. Tell them to vote against this bill. Ask them where they stand.

✅ 3. Talk About It at Work

Spread the word with co-workers. Many people won’t hear about this unless it’s raised in break rooms and team chats.

✅ 4. Join or Strengthen Your Union

This bill is a reminder that collective strength is our best defence. If you're not already a member—join. If you are—get active.

✅ 5. Share on Social Media

Use your platform. Use the hashtags:#StopTheERABill #FairWorkNZ #UnionStrong

✊ Our Message to Parliament

Workers deserve protection, not punishment.We deserve the right to challenge unfair treatment, not be silenced.We deserve a voice at work—and a say in laws that affect our lives.

This bill is radical, regressive, and out of step with the kind of society we’re trying to build. Aotearoa deserves better.

Let’s raise our voices and make sure Parliament hears us loud and clear.

NUPE – National Union of Public EmployeesStanding for fairness, dignity, and decent work.

📧 Contact us for templates, submission help, and MP engagement resources.