Service & Food Workers Union

The Service & Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota (SFWU) was a trade union in New Zealand. It was affiliated with the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions and the New Zealand Labour Party.

A car with the livery of the Service & Food Workers Union

The SFWU was organised into five industry sectors:

• Age Care, Disability, Health & Community Services
• Catering, Cleaning and Contract Services
• Clerical, Administration & Technical Services
• Food & Beverage Manufacturing & Processing
• Hospitality, Tourism & Entertainment Services

The Service & Food Workers Union filed a case with the Employment Court against Terranova, a rest home operator, in relation to allegations that it paid its caregivers lower wages that it would otherwise pay if its work force was not predominantly made up of women.[1] The case went all the way to the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, where it was upheld in 2015. The government then took it on itself to negotiate a settlement, which was announced in April 2017 as "the largest pay increase in New Zealand's history".[2]

In October 2015, the Service & Food Workers Union merged with the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union to form E tū.[3]