The 2025 Ernie Abbott Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Wellington Socialist Society, will consider the life, death, and possible rebirth of Fair Pay Agreements (FPA) in Aotearoa.

It will be held at 6:00pm Tuesday 15 April at Bedlam & Squalor in Te Aro, Wellington. All are welcome to attend this free event.

Ben Peterson, Assistant Secretary of Unite Union and former Fair Pay Agreements Strategic Coordinator for the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, will deliver the lecture.

The introduction of FPAs under the last Labour government was an ambitious attempt to deal with stagnant wages and rising poverty. FPAs would have allowed unions to dramatically increase their reach and improve pay and conditions across whole industries and occupations. Unfortunately, the recent change of government led to the repeal of the FPA legislation just on the cusp of the first FPAs being completed.

Having been at the heart of FPA negotiations, Ben’s experience has afforded him unique insights and lessons for rebuilding the union movement in the 21st century.

Ernie Abbott was the vice-president of the Caretakers and Cleaners Union and caretaker of the Wellington Trades Hall. He was killed on 27 March 1984 when an explosion ripped through the Wellington Trades Hall. The bombing was the culmination of years of virulent demonisation of trade unionists and socialists by Muldoon’s National government and their allies in the press – today we are witnessing similar scapegoating by another National government, this time targeting Māori and other marginalised sections of society. The perpetrator of this act of terrorism has never been brought to justice.

The first Ernie Abbott Memorial Lecture was held at Wellington Trades Hall on the 40th anniversary of the bombing in 2024. The annual Memorial Lecture is dedicated to the memory of Ernie and all those who have given their lives in service of working people and is focused on labour, trade union, and socialist history in Aotearoa.

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