Ambulance workers say the call to strike boils down to ensuring their voices are heard.

2,500 members from First Union and the Ambulance Association have voted on industrial action.

Labour will be withdrawn for four hours across two days —August 20 and 24— amid calls for the Government to fulfil an election promise to renegotiate funding.

First Union spokesperson Faye McCann told Ryan Bridge 95% of its members voted to strike.

She says it's unfortunate and not the ideal situation.

The Government says it will continue with the current contract for now.

LISTEN ABOVE

Ambulance workers say the call to strike boils down to ensuring their voices are heard. 
2,500 members from First Union and the Ambulance Association have voted on industrial action. 
Labour will be withdrawn for four hours across two days —August 20 and 24— amid calls for the Government to fulfil an election promise to renegotiate funding. 
First Union spokesperson Faye McCann told Ryan Bridge 95% of its members voted to strike. 
She says it's unfortunate and not the ideal situation. 
The Government says it will continue with the current contract for now. 
 LISTEN ABOVE

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Faye McCann: First Union Spokesperson on the ambulance workers striking later this month

The IRD is giving your data to Facebook – taxpayers' data to Facebook, that was the headline yesterday.

We give them our data in trust and confidence. Well, we don't actually, we give them our data because the law says we must file our tax returns and tell them who we are and how much we're earning.

But perhaps you assume that the law says that they must keep it to themselves. Not so.

I think this is a scandal. 

To be honest when I read the headline, I thought IRD must have been hit by one of those phone scams. You know, they've been cold called by Nigerian prince and handed over our private data.

But no, the RNZ report says they give Facebook and the big tech guys some of our information because it's anonymised. They're calling it hashed. So they can't see who you are when they hand it over.

And it's only for the purposes of IRD placing ads on these platforms like Facebook, et cetera, so don't worry about it.

Sorry, I am worried, and I reckon most Kiwis will hate this.

The reason is pretty simple: it's trust.

Do you trust Facebook? No.

Do you believe they will keep your data secure? No.

Do you believe they won't marry up your private data that our government has just handed them on a silver platter with the profiles they have on you already? No.

No one trusts these guys.

I don't want some government department sending my data to some Silicon Valley server so that some tech guy can bug me with intrusive ads about what undies to buy.

I actually think there's more to this story, and there will be because they have a life of their own. It won't just be the IRD that's doing it. There will be other government departments, there'll be other private data, there'll be more of us affected.

Luxon should get ahead of this and just say let's have some kind of little review because otherwise you're going to get these headlines ticking over and over and over, and I think people will be sick of it.

Also, as citizens, we need to have faith that when we give our data to the government that it is kept secure and safe, and even a perception that it's not is not good enough.

The IRD is giving your data to Facebook – taxpayers' data to Facebook, that was the headline yesterday. 
We give them our data in trust and confidence. Well, we don't actually, we give them our data because the law says we must file our tax returns and tell them who we are and how much we're earning. 
But perhaps you assume that the law says that they must keep it to themselves. Not so. 
I think this is a scandal.  
To be honest when I read the headline, I thought IRD must have been hit by one of those phone scams. You know, they've been cold called by Nigerian prince and handed over our private data. 
But no, the RNZ report says they give Facebook and the big tech guys some of our information because it's anonymised. They're calling it hashed. So they can't see who you are when they hand it over. 
And it's only for the purposes of IRD placing ads on these platforms like Facebook, et cetera, so don't worry about it. 
Sorry, I am worried, and I reckon most Kiwis will hate this. 
The reason is pretty simple: it's trust. 
Do you trust Facebook? No. 
Do you believe they will keep your data secure? No. 
Do you believe they won't marry up your private data that our government has just handed them on a silver platter with the profiles they have on you already? No. 
No one trusts these guys. 
I don't want some government department sending my data to some Silicon Valley server so that some tech guy can bug me with intrusive ads about what undies to buy. 
I actually think there's more to this story, and there will be because they have a life of their own. It won't just be the IRD that's doing it. There will be other government departments, there'll be other private data, there'll be more of us affected. 
Luxon should get ahead of this and just say let's have some kind of little review because otherwise you're going to get these headlines ticking over and over and over, and I think people will be sick of it. 
Also, as citizens, we need to have faith that when we give our data to the government that it is kept secure and safe, and even a perception that it's not is not good enough.

Ryan Bridge: You should be concerned about the IRD giving social media companies our data

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday10th of September, slight changes were made to the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in Cabinet yesterday. Labour's Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson joins the show to discuss.

Superfund has reached a value of $76.6 billion - a record for the fund. But what does it mean for the government and New Zealand's markets? Superfund expert Jonathan Eriksen speaks to Ryan.

There were 80 suspected suicides in the construction industry in the past year, so what is the sector doing to improve mental health and wellbeing? MATES in Construction researcher Dr Lauren Donnan joins the show to talk about her latest research and what the industry could do to reduce the number of suicides.

Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

LISTEN ABOVE

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday10th of September, slight changes were made to the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in Cabinet yesterday. Labour's Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson joins the show to discuss. 
Superfund has reached a value of $76.6 billion - a record for the fund. But what does it mean for the government and New Zealand's markets? Superfund expert Jonathan Eriksen speaks to Ryan. 
There were 80 suspected suicides in the construction industry in the past year, so what is the sector doing to improve mental health and wellbeing? MATES in Construction researcher Dr Lauren Donnan joins the show to talk about her latest research and what the industry could do to reduce the number of suicides. 
Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Full Show Podcast: 10 September 2024 

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzales has arrived in Spain after fleeing the country after its presidential election.

Gonzales had an arrest warrant issued after he disputed July’s election, which was won by incumbent Nicolas Maduro.

The US, EU and Latin American countries have also questioned the election results after Venezuela refused to publish official election data to prove the result.

Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge he arrived on a Spanish Royal Air Force plane near Madrid, where he’ll be granted political asylum after having stayed at its embassy in Caracas.

LISTEN ABOVE

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzales has arrived in Spain after fleeing the country after its presidential election. 
Gonzales had an arrest warrant issued after he disputed July’s election, which was won by incumbent Nicolas Maduro. 
The US, EU and Latin American countries have also questioned the election results after Venezuela refused to publish official election data to prove the result. 
Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge he arrived on a Spanish Royal Air Force plane near Madrid, where he’ll be granted political asylum after having stayed at its embassy in Caracas. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Faye McCann: First Union Spokesperson on the ambulance workers striking later this month

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