Privacy policy

E tū Incorporated is the union representing workers in many and varied industries according to our rules as a registered union under the Employment Relations Act 2020. The principal activities of E tū reflect our objectives that appear in our rules. A copy of the E tū Union Rules is available at our website (www.etu.nz) and may also be downloaded from our website.

E tū Incorporated and its subsidiaries respect the privacy and confidentiality of members, potential members, and our website visitors and registered users (job seekers and job advertisers)  and are committed to protecting their personal information. This policy sets out how E tū will treat members and other users and visitors personal information.

For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, E tū is the “Data Controller” of your personal data; our Head Office address is 7 McGregor Street, Rongotai 6022.

In respect of data collected by our job-seekers and job advertisers while using E tū products and services to deliver primarily (but not limited to) recruitment and human resources services to job seekers and job advertisers, E tū shall process personal information as a data processor on behalf of our job advertisers. In this scenario, our job advertisers are the data controllers. Our job advertisers’ privacy policy in addition to this privacy policy, should be read and understood.

This Privacy Policy applies to all personal information collected by us, or submitted to us, whether offline or online, including personal information collected or submitted through our websites and any mobile sites, applications, widgets, and other mobile interactive features, through our official social media pages that we control as well as through HTML-formatted email messages that we send to you.

Reference to personal data may include any information which directly or indirectly identifies you. This may include your name, address, contact details, date of birth, payroll number, IRD number, Insurance number, and bank details. The personal data you supply to us will be held in electronic and/or manual format. 

The processing of personal data by E tū will be in line with the Privacy Act 2020. This policy reflects our duties to use information fairly, keep it secure, make sure it is accurate and keep it up to date.

By visiting our websites, My Etū, Delegates Site and using our electronic membership card app, the E tū Union Toolbox and otherwise providing personal information to us, our members, users, visitors, and registered users are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any of the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the websites or submit any personal information to us.

The Privacy Policy may change from time to time, so please check back periodically. It was last updated in November 2021.

How E tū uses personal data of our members 

General information about E tū’s use of members data

All information that E tū holds concerning a member as an individual (personal data) will be held and processed in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act 2020.

We collect and hold the following personal information of our members such as, but not limited to:

  1. Names
  2. Contact details, such as a home address, employer address, telephone numbers, and email address
  3. Personal details, such as date of birth, gender, occupation, race, ethnic origin, and interests
  4. Bank account numbers, credit card numbers
  5. Social media details (e.g. blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin)
  6. Employment details and history
  7. Educational qualifications and
  8. Inquiry or complaint details.

Some personal data is considered sensitive data and includes:

  • Political opinions
  • Political party membership (if any)
  • Union membership (if any)
  • Racial or ethnic origin
  • Sexual orientation
  • Any disabilities, illnesses, or injuries a person may have, and/or
  • Any other health information.

The Privacy Act 2020 allows E tū to collect sensitive personal data which related solely to E tū members or people who have regular contact with E tū if the sensitive personal data relates to the E tū activities. We will only collect sensitive personal data where we have received your consent to your sensitive information being collected, used, disclosed, and stored by E tū in accordance with this Policy.

If you are applying for a job with E tū the personal data you provide will only be collected, held, used, and disclosed to consider your potential employment with E tū.

If you are applying for a job through the Jobmatch platform, the personal data you provide will only be collected, held, used, and disclosed to consider your potential employment with any job advertisers who register their job vacancies with the Jobmatch platform.

If you choose to register on Job Match, Job Match may choose to tag your file in the system and place you in a particular job-seeking group and as a result Job Match may contact you from time to time about specific job opportunities relating to your field of expertise and this may also be shown to advertisers as an indication of Job Match’s assessment of your suitability to a position that an advertiser is trying to fill. You can opt-out of this at any time by contacting Job Match or deleting your profile.

Where you provide the details of referees, you confirm that you have informed the referees that you are providing their contact information to E tū and they have consented to E tū contacting them and discussing the personal data you have provided in relation to the job application.

This Policy applies to personal data E tū collect from you:

  • Via one of our websites
  • Via social media
  • Via applications
  • Via telephone
  • Via email
  • Via video call
  • When you apply for a job with us
  • When you choose to share your information with us for any other purpose
  • In-person, and/or
  • In writing.

This Policy also applies to personal data E tū collect from the NZ Council of Trade Unions or any other third party, about you.

E tū will collect personal data directly from you unless:

  • You have consented to the E tū’s collection of your personal data from third parties – for example, your representative
  • When we are legally required to do so
  • It is unreasonable or impractical to do so.

Where we have collected personal data about you either directly or by other means as set out above, we will notify you at the time, or as soon as practicable, to ensure that you are aware of such collection and its purpose.

We collect and may process members and other users personal data for the following purposes: 

  1. the administration and management of your membership records
  2. to provide you with information and updates about E tū’s activities, campaigns, benefits, and services
  3. to notify members of changes to our services and benefits 
  4. to determine eligibility for and administer benefits
  5. to conduct elections and ballots
  6. to assess suitability for election to a committee, council, or other body of E tū
  7. to administer all meetings (as well as meetings of any committee, delegates forum, or conference within the union to which you may be elected or a delegate) 
  8. to provide you with support, assistance, advice, and/or representation in an individual or collective case
  9. to process your membership subscription payments
  10. to communicate information about training opportunities
  11. to verify the identity of a member or a user
  12. to inform about rights at work
  13. to inform about changes to legislation
  14. to improve our service delivery
  15. programmes to recruit new members to E tū
  16. gathering members’ views on issues of concern to them and E tū
  17. to conduct research and related activities to establish the views of our members on particular issues
  18. to publicise to our members and the community issues of concern to our members
  19. to lobby governments and other relevant bodies about matters of concern or importance to our members and their families in relation to their employment and working circumstances
  20. for equality monitoring when provided by you. The provision of equality monitoring information is not compulsory but providing this will allow E tū to accurately monitor our membership diversity and to take appropriate action to ensure that women and migrant workers are fully represented within the union   
  21. to comply with legal requirements 
  22. for promotional and marketing purposes, including communicating information about our products and services
  23. to provide members, registered users, and their families with access to a range of services such as a job match recruitment service and training for jobseekers
  24. to determine job-seeker suitability for working for E tū
  25. to interact with potential members in workplaces and the broader community in pursuit of E tū strategic goals
  26. for other trade union related purposes, objects, or activities, including those set in E tū’s Union Rules

E tū will keep all personal data confidential and will take appropriate measures to protect it against loss, theft, or misuse and to safeguard members’ and other users’ privacy. By joining E tū, a member should understand that we may use some or all personal data members have provided for the above purposes. The primary basis upon which E tū process members’ personal data is it is necessary for the legitimate interests of a trade union. E tū’s legitimate interests are broadly defined in the E tū’s Union Rules.

Certain processing is also carried out because it is necessary to comply with the law, including the requirement that trade unions keep an accurate register of members’ names and addresses. Therefore, if you wish to be a member, you must provide this information to us. 

E tū may contact you at your home address, by telephone, video call, SMS, or email. You can change how we communicate with you at any time by visiting the My Etū, and Delegates Site on E tū websites: www.etu.nz, www.jobmatch.etu.nz, www.carewatch.org.nz, member or user login or using our E tū Union Toolbox and by contacting E tū Support to do this for you ( E tū Support phone number: 0800 186 466). 

If a member or registered user decides to not give E tū their personal information, then they:

  • will not be able to use the E tū products and services
  • won’t be kept updated on things that are happening at E tū.

Sharing of information

E tū may disclose information about you to E tū’s officers, staff, workplace representatives, or third parties, insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes as set out in this privacy policy.  E tū will not disclose any of your personally identifiable information to any third party unless they are processing data on the union’s behalf, we have your consent, to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim, and/or we are required to do so by law. 

E tū takes all reasonable steps to ensure that each of the third parties is committed to protecting your privacy according to the Privacy Act 2020.

Third-party contractors

E tū shares some member information with carefully selected third party contractors, who carry out trade union-related data processing activities on E tū’s behalf, including:

  • Ballot and election administration, as required by law
  • Maintaining and updating membership information
  • IT systems support
  • Job Match Platform
  • Print and/or processing of authorised postal and/or electronic communications from E tū regarding the union’s objects, services, benefits, campaigns, policies, or other matters relating to your membership of E tū, or as required by law
  • Email/web platforms and surveys
  • Operating the E tū Support Contact Centre Software

We have contractual, technical, organisational, and security measures in place to protect members’ data. 

E tū will normally also share necessary personal data with either your bank or employer, depending on the method by which you chose to pay your membership subscriptions, to process your subscription payments according to the payment method you consented to. This applies to your bank if you pay by direct debit or your employer if you pay by check-off. You can change your subscription payment method at any time by contacting E tū’s Membership Department. 

Where members join the Labour Party as affiliated trade union members and consent to this, we will share necessary data with the Labour Party to verify your trade union membership. 

How E tū may use members and registered user’s information as a visitor/user to the websites or as a potential member 

Personal data submitted on the E tū websites will only be used for the purposes (or closely related purposes) that it was collected. 

We may use your personal information to:

  • administer the E tū’s websites, My Etū, Delegates Site, and the E tū Union Toolbox as an electronic membership card app;
  • improve your browsing experience by personalising the websites;
  • enable your use of the services available on the websites;
  • send you email notifications that you have specifically requested;
  • deal with inquiries and complaints made by or about you relating to the websites;
  • for the purpose of direct marketing if you have requested information on a particular product or service.

If you are a potential member applying for membership we will in addition process your data to progress your application for membership

If you are a job-seeker applying for a job within the Job Match platform, we will process your data to progress your job application.

Any personal data provided by you on any social media or other external websites or services (including any that you link to from this website) will be subject to and governed by the privacy notice and policies of the organisation that operates the relevant platform/website.  

Privacy and cookies 

We will collect the personal data that you give to us for the purposes (or closely related purposes) for which you give it to us. Some information is gathered when you join or sign up to receive email updates. The Website generates persistent session cookies for the purpose of monitoring Website usage. The cookies do not collect personal information. A cookie is a piece of information that is stored on your computer’s hard drive. It is normally sent by a web server to you and enables the server to collect information back from your site visit.  You can disable them or clear them out of the web browser you are using to view this Website without affecting your ability to use the Website.

Statistical information and cookies 

We use social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to communicate with the public about our work. When you communicate with E tū using these services, the social networking service may collect your personal information for its own purposes. The Social networking services have their own privacy statements which are independent of ours. These services do not have any access to the personal information we hold on our systems.

We may collect statistical information about your visit to help us improve the E tū websites. We use Google Analytics for tracking the usage of our websites. This information is aggregated and non-personally identifying. It includes:

  • your IP addresses
  • the search terms you used
  • the pages you accessed on our Website and the links you clicked on
  • the date and time you visited the Website
  • the referring site (if any) through which you clicked through to this Website
  • your operating system
  • the type of web browser you use and
  • other incidental matters such as screen resolution and the language setting of your browser.

The statistical information referred to above will be viewable by Websites administrators and certain other E tū staff. It may also be shared with other E tū stakeholders.

Generally 

Storage and retention of data 

E tū will only retain your personal information for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which that personal information was collected and to the extent permitted by applicable laws. When E tū no longer needs to use personal information, E tū will remove it from its systems and records and/or take steps to anonymize it so you can no longer be identified from it.

We use third-party providers to store our data. We store most of the personal information we collect and generate electronically on the cloud servers located in Australia, the USA, and New Zealand. The data servers are password protected and login secured. By providing personal data to E tū, you consent to your information being stored and processed on data servers (e.g. cloud services) owned by a third party or third parties that may be located outside of New Zealand. E tū will take reasonable steps to ensure that any third-party providers comply with the Privacy Act 2020 principles.

Wherever reasonably practicable E tū holds physical personal data in access-controlled premises.

When E tū no longer requires your personal data for a specific purpose and E tū are not required to keep it to comply with any laws, E tū will take such steps as are reasonable in the circumstance to destroy your personal data or to ensure that the data is de-identified.

Updating and accessing your information 

You have the right to correct the personal data we hold on you or change how we process your data/contact you. You can do this by visiting the My Etū website www.etu.nz/member login, using the E tū Union Toolbox, our Electronic Membership Card App, or by contacting the E tū Support to do this for you.  E tū Support will require proof of your identity before being able to provide you with any personal information.

E tū will not disclose personal information that E tū holds about job-seekers on behalf of an advertiser. All requests for information held by E tū on behalf of an advertiser need to be made to the advertiser, not E tū.

You have the right to access the personal data we have kept on record about you. If you have any questions or concerns about this policy or would like to request access, change, or deletion of your personal data, you can do this by contacting our Membership Department at membership@etu.nz or by post at the following address:

Membership Department 
E tū Incorporated 
Private Bag 92645 Symonds Street 1150, Auckland

E tū is committed to your data protection and upholding your data rights. If you think we have not done so, please contact E tū’s Privacy Officer, Marina Kokanovic. Her email address is privacyofficer@etu.nz.

To make a complaint about an alleged privacy breach, please write to or email the Privacy Officer at one of the following addresses:

Privacy Officer

Email: privacyofficer@etu.nz

All complaints must be written. Please provide all details about your complaint as well as any supporting documentation to the Privacy Officer. The outcome of an investigation will be provided to the complainant where the complainant has provided proof of identity. E tū will see to respond within 30 days of receipt of a valid complaint.

If you are not satisfied with our response to any privacy-related concern you may have, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner: 

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 10-094
Wellington, New Zealand
Tel: +64 4 474 7590
Enquiries Line (from Auckland): 302 8655
Enquiries Line (from outside Auckland): 0800 803 909
Fax: +64 4 474 7595
Email: enquiries@privacy.org.nz

Amending this policy 

E tū reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time by publishing an updated version of this Policy on our websites and taking any further action as required by law, after which, your continued use of the Website or your provision of any further personal information will indicate your acknowledgment to the modified terms of this Policy. 

Terms of use

By using E tū websites, My Etū, Delegates Site, and the E tū Electronic Membership Card App – E tū Union Toolbox, or by downloading and or using any website digital portals that we own and operate, you confirm that you agree to these websites and other portals’ Terms of Use and the E tū Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree, do not use our websites, and do not download and use any of our digital portals. 

We use our reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information on our web pages. Information is for guidance only and is not intended to form any part of a contract and can be subject to change without notice. We shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or cumulative losses or damages arising out of the use or inability to use these pages, any errors, misrepresentations, or omissions on the material contained on them.                     

The information on these web pages has been prepared with reasonable care and is believed by us to be legal, honest, decent, and truthful as of the date of its preparation.        

You agree that the material downloaded or otherwise accessed using our web pages is obtained entirely at your own risk and that you will be entirely responsible for any resulting damage to software or computer systems and/or any resulting loss of data even if we have been advised of the possibility of any such damage.

We do not accept any liability in connection with any third-party websites which may be linked or accessible through our own websites and we do not endorse or approve the contents of any such site.      

In relation to a dispute arising out of this website you the user, and we, agree to submit exclusively to the jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand.      

Except where expressly stated to the contrary, the text and graphics in the information contained in this website is the copyright of E tū. You may download or print out individual selections of these web pages only if explicitly used for your own personal information and not to be publicly reproduced. Permanent copying or storage of whole or part of this website, or the information contained in it, or reproduction or incorporation of any part of it in any other work or publication, whether on paper or electronic media or any other form, is expressly prohibited.      

The entire contents of these web pages remain our property and are copyright with all rights reserved.     

The Privacy Act 2020

Your personal information is your personal property and as such we recognise that this places serious responsibilities on us. We have therefore published a separate privacy policy on these web pages. Our omission to exercise any rights under these conditions of use does not constitute a waiver of such a right unless expressly accepted by us in writing.