Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, January 6th, 2019 - 146 comments
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, December 30th, 2018 - 139 comments
Welcome to TS’s Sunday think piece. It’s a blank sheet, a tabula rasa, waiting for your thoughts on the future and How To Get There.
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 am, December 7th, 2018 - 11 comments
The Government is planning changes to the Reserve Bank Act to require it to seek full employment. Maybe it is time for a dramatic change to its powers so that it has the regulatory powers to properly deal with the Australian banks.
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, November 28th, 2018 - 40 comments
The Labour Party sponsored amendments to the Employment Relations Act are a step closer to becoming law. That’s a good thing for working people and a good thing for coalition politics.
Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, November 7th, 2018 - 14 comments
The latest unemployment data showing the jobless rate falling to under 4% follows the equally bad 1.0% economic growth in the September quarter and a budget surplus of $5.5b, confirming the economy is going down like Donald Trump, as predicted by the ANZ Bank’s business confidence survey
Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, September 13th, 2018 - 17 comments
Why is it that all risk lies with the shareholders? Why does poor performance by a company not result in CEO and top management bonuses being clawed back?
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, September 12th, 2018 - 65 comments
Business NZ has admitted that a poll that it ran was fundamentally flawed but has threatened to go to the ILO about Labour’s rather modest proposed changes to Industrial Relations law. And Radio New Zealand has reported on an industrial dispute involving Sistema plastics where union workers are working 60 hour working weeks without overtime pay on not much more than the minimum wage.
Written By: - Date published: 3:21 am, August 27th, 2018 - 7 comments
On Friday 27 July 2018, Wellington Tramways Union Vice President Chris Morley passed away after a short battle with Cancer, aged 62. Chris had been a Wellington bus driver since 1978, when public transport in the city was run and controlled by Wellington City Council. In 2008 I was privileged to be elected to the Tramways Union […]
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, August 16th, 2018 - 72 comments
This Government has probably one term to show progress in dealing with the country’s infrastructure deficit.
Written By: - Date published: 2:01 pm, August 1st, 2018 - 59 comments
Simon Bridges has claimed that a miniscule increase in the unemployment rate is a harbinger of Labour caused doom and gloom for the economy.
Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, July 27th, 2018 - 76 comments
There’s a sickness affecting our health system.
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, July 25th, 2018 - 76 comments
Simon Bridges, who is clearly struggling for relevance, has decided to try and improve his political position by bashing beneficiaries.
Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, July 20th, 2018 - 41 comments
Occasional Standard reader Matthew Hooton has written a cogent column on industrial relations in which he realises and accepts that wages for ordinary workers are too low.
Written By: - Date published: 11:35 am, July 1st, 2018 - 50 comments
Deserving workers and undeserving workers in the public service.
updated
Written By: - Date published: 2:13 pm, June 15th, 2018 - 42 comments
The Government has announced that all employees in the core public service will be paid a living wage from September 1, 2018.
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, June 6th, 2018 - 39 comments
Perhaps the idea that it’s necessary to have national objectives and realistic plans to achieve them, is overrated. Seems to be working for Trump.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, May 17th, 2018 - 20 comments
The National Party has recently been on the Government’s case for increasing strikes under their watch. But is that really a fair criticism, and does it jive well with the other things the Opposition has been claiming to value?
Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, May 13th, 2018 - 40 comments
This is as good a year as it is going to get to squeeze your employer for a fair wage.
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, March 14th, 2018 - 32 comments
A more productive economy – and society – has been an elusive goal for many of New Zealand’s previous governments. The last National Government failed. What will Labour do to succeed?
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, March 8th, 2018 - 82 comments
The TPP is due to be signed today. For those who aren’t done to death with hearing about it, why is it still bad, why hasn’t it met Labour’s bottom lines, and why are we even signing it?
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, February 14th, 2018 - 35 comments
Had anyone with a job (other than the top 2 tiers of management) had a wage increase higher than inflation recently?
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, February 13th, 2018 - 41 comments
Because words matter.
Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, February 7th, 2018 - 13 comments
The New Zealand Government has rejected the OIO’s proposal to allow Bathurst to purchase DOC land for coal mining purposes. And in Australia the Queensland Labor Government is working out how it can back out of an agreement to permit the Adani coal mine to proceed.
Written By: - Date published: 6:13 am, January 26th, 2018 - 42 comments
“The government today announced some employment relations reforms, including the restoration of meal breaks and the right to collective bargaining. But they also plan to retain 90 day trial periods for small businesses“
Written By: - Date published: 1:28 pm, January 25th, 2018 - 20 comments
The Government has announced changes to the Employment Relations law which on the whole are positive and beneficial for workers. But following New Zealand First lobbying the 90 day fire at will provision will be retained for small firms.
Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, January 25th, 2018 - 137 comments
The positive aspects of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.
Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, January 20th, 2018 - 52 comments
Ten reasons why Donald Trump is anti worker and bad for America’s working class.
Written By: - Date published: 11:46 am, January 17th, 2018 - 82 comments
The sixth Labour led Government has made a good start to its term. But what policy results will New Zealand have to vote for and campaign on in 2020?
Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, January 10th, 2018 - 46 comments
“You were never going to get rich as a bus driver but you could pay the mortgage or rent, afford a meal out now and then, and make sure your kids had what they needed to do well — hopefully to do better than you.
Competitive contracting has taken that away”
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 9th, 2017 - 31 comments
It’s that time of year where we start making predictions for 2018. I see it looking not too hot, not too cold.
Written By: - Date published: 9:03 am, November 25th, 2017 - 111 comments
Jacinda Ardern intends to reach out to National to try and furnish a bi partisan approach to dealing with child poverty. It is a good idea, but I don’t like her chances.
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