What We Do
For a Better World
Decent work, with wages and conditions that enable us to live in dignity, is a basic human right. We can’t sit by while millions of people in our Asia-Pacific region are denied this right.
We are committed to supporting action by working people in neighbouring countries to build unions, provide skills training and take collective action that improves their lives. Together we will empower working people in our Asia-Pacific region to achieve a life free of poverty.
How We Work
We invest the money we raise into partner organisations in developing countries with the experience, courage and knowledge to build the collective power of vulnerable working people. Partners identify their priorities and solutions and we support them through funding, advice and monitoring to ensure that projects deliver real change for working people.
Building Unions
Unions provide working people with the collective power to negotiate decent wages and conditions to improve their livelihoods. New Zealand's unions have fought for the working rights we benefit from, and men and women in developing countries deserve those same rights.
Skills training
Skills training increases job opportunities and earning potential. Our projects support women, migrants and minorities to gain new vocational skills so they can get decent work and safely support themselves and their families.
Creating Cooperatives
Establishing local co-operatives enables small scale farmers, street vendors, cleaners and other groups of working people to collectively make and sell their products, improving their incomes and sustainability. We have supported Dalit and Tribal workers in India to form co-operatives, increasing their incomes and breaking dependency on money lenders, middle men and landlords.
Empowering workers
Participation in democratic, worker-led organisations empowers people whose work is not formally recognised to advocate for better pay, job security, and better prospects for themselves and their peers.
Shaping Young Leaders
With funding from the NZ Aid Programme, UnionAID has provided 122 young community leaders from Myanmar, East Indonesia and Mindanao (southern Philippines) with the unique opportunity to learn about democracy, human rights, gender justice, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and community development here in Aotearoa.
Our Success
For more than ten years we have worked with our partners to build grass roots movements for justice and decent work. Achieving real change is challenging work, but our projects have directly improved the working and social conditions of thousands of working people across the Asia-Pacific region.
Our Project Partners
We work with partners across the Asia-Pacific region to support working people in building unions, establishing cooperatives, and decent wages.
Click on each of our partner’s images to learn more about their work.
Stories from our project Partners
Lockdown in Tamil Nadu Pushing Informal Workers to the Edge
The vulnerability of India’s 450 million informal workers has been exposed as the nation entered a 21-day lockdown in March. These men and women rely
Fiji Women Ambitious for Living Wage
In February UnionAID supported the National Union of Factory and Commercial Workers to hold its first ever two-day Women’s Conference. On day one 40 NUFCW
Rangsit and Area Labour Union Activity Not Stopped by COVID-19
The lockdown in Thailand has not prevented union leaders from starting a new ambitious UnionAID funded project. Trialling a video link, they have run their