The Standard

workers’ rights

Categories under workers’ rights

Should job hiring be fair and transparent?

Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, February 20th, 2026 - 13 comments

Honi soit qui mal y pense.

“Surprise” unemployment high masks more damaging developments

Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, February 4th, 2026 - 8 comments

Unemployment hits 5.4% in the December quarter, but that doesn’t include the 140,000 plus Kiwi citizens that have fled in the last 2 years

This National-led Government is the best mis-manager of the economy

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, February 4th, 2026 - 9 comments

When the coalition is treating the economy as a game, are they having fun?

Green Shoots, Anyone?

Written By: - Date published: 4:11 pm, January 30th, 2026 - 27 comments

There is no evidence of immediate improvement in our economy, or of this government improving it.

Who would have thunk that slashing Health IT budgets would result in IT outages

Written By: - Date published: 2:03 pm, January 29th, 2026 - 9 comments

A year after the Government slashed a third of Health IT jobs the Auckland hospital system has suffered a massive IT outage.

NZ First repeals Foreign Home Buyers Ban Under Urgency, Late At Night, During X’mas Period

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, December 16th, 2025 - 17 comments

PLUS: Brooke Van Velden overturns historic Supreme Court Uber ruling, after Uber lost their appeal unanimously last month

Privatisation and Plunder

Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, December 9th, 2025 - 3 comments

Privatisation and Plunder is essential reading for those who want to work for a society where prosperity for all is the aim.

“National is Getting NZ Back on Track”?

Written By: - Date published: 2:21 pm, December 8th, 2025 - 13 comments

That’s the headline of the pamphlet in the letterbox. But from their own measures is that true?

Stand with Pike – preserve Health and Safety at Work

Written By: - Date published: 10:46 am, November 19th, 2025 - 17 comments

On the 15th anniversary of the Pike River disaster Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse will today be speaking to Brook van Velden about the need to preserve and strengthen safety at work laws.

Labour Day: the working class and civil emergencies

Written By: - Date published: 6:06 am, October 27th, 2025 - 17 comments

On this Labour Day, a massive shout out to all the workers in Southland, Otago and other areas affected by the storms last week. Paid and volunteer, obvious and those in the background doing support for the frontline workers.

Stuff’s Lloyd Burr infers striking workers are puppets

Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, October 24th, 2025 - 11 comments

Burr unironically asks: “Politics or pay – what’s really behind the mega strike?” without understanding all action is political, and that unions are made up of individual workers who vote

Judith Collins’ Open Letter Is Dirty Politics

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, October 19th, 2025 - 15 comments

The senior National Party Cabinet Minister has penned an “Open letter to the people of New Zealand” on the New Zealand Government’s official website

Simeon Brown threatens doctors as mega strike looms

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, October 19th, 2025 - 5 comments

An exodus of professionals are leaving – with Kiwi citizens fleeing at levels we haven’t seen in 24 years. These incl. community GPs, doctors & nurses – and Simeon is going after those that remain

Hayek’s Acolytes and History’s Judgement

Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, October 18th, 2025 - 44 comments

While we should acknowledge Jim Bolger’s life of service to New Zealand we should also recognise the critical and continuing damage done to New Zealand by his government.

Van Velden pressures ERA to reduce worker compensation payments

Written By: - Date published: 9:52 am, August 23rd, 2025 - 16 comments

Brooke Van Velden has announced the appointment of four new members to the Employment Relations Authority and has expressed the wish that compensation payments to workers will be reduced.

No mandate for this

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, August 21st, 2025 - 22 comments

Partial strike law penalties used on nurses trying to keep themselves safe is emblematic of the wider libertarian playbook within the NZ government

How was National able to take down construction so quickly?

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 pm, August 15th, 2025 - 67 comments

Industry experts say Chris Bishop and his party are to blame, but Bishop denies it, saying construction industry leaders are just “wrong”

Was it Luxon’s idea to cancel pay equity claims under urgency?

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, August 2nd, 2025 - 5 comments

A recent dump of papers relating to the cancellation of the Pay Equity scheme suggest that Christopher Luxon was the primary driver behind the decision to do this under urgency.

The ultimate Fuck you, to your neighbours, the community and the environment. Private helicopters!

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, July 18th, 2025 - 12 comments

Again, we were woken up by a bunch of hoodrats drifting on the intersection by our house. Great clouds of smoke and lots of noise. As you do at three o clock in the morning, my brain started tying this together with recent articles about private helicopters in urban areas, and other forms of antisocial “Fuck You’s” to the rest of us.

Work will not be so safe

Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, June 4th, 2025 - 11 comments

Brooke Van Velden has announced changes to Workplace safety laws that will see prosecutions of Employers decrease but prosecutions of workers start.

Migration: the spectre at the feast

Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, May 28th, 2025 - 26 comments

The challenge posed by migration pressures is real and often underestimated. They are greater today than ever before in modern history.

The Peoples’ Select Committee on Pay Equity

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, May 28th, 2025 - 8 comments

In very bad news for the Government former National MP Marilyn Waring has announced that she will be doing something the Government did not do, organise hearings to consider the Government’s sabotaging of Pay Equity.

Our growing stress is everywhere

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, May 24th, 2025 - 22 comments

We don’t know where this country is going and it’s getting worse. 

The Coalition Continues to Defund Science

Written By: - Date published: 2:28 pm, May 18th, 2025 - 6 comments

Another science fund bites the dust in New Zealand.

Louisa Wall – This Is Not Feminism – It’s Fiscal Evasion Dressed in Lipstick

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, May 15th, 2025 - 24 comments

Louisa Wall eviscerates Government claims about pay equity.

Get ready for the Regulatory Standards Bill

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, May 11th, 2025 - 24 comments

Following on from the undermining under urgency of the current Pay Equity scheme the Government intends to introduce the Regulatory Standards Bill which if passed would have a significant adverse effect on collective rights and environmental action.

The beginning of the end

Written By: - Date published: 10:13 am, May 10th, 2025 - 58 comments

When the history of the sixth National Government is written I am confident that the events of this week when the Pay Equity system was smashed up will be described as the the beginning of the end.

Lies damned lies and Pay Equity Repeal excuses

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 7th, 2025 - 27 comments

Christopher Luxon yesterday tried to claim that budgetary considerations were not the reason for repealing the Pay Equity Legislation even though David Seymour had said that the monetary savings from the bill would save the Budget.

The Greens’ Industrial Strategy: Green Jobs Guarantee and Ministry of Green Works

Written By: - Date published: 5:17 pm, May 1st, 2025 - 39 comments

New Zealanders should be in control of our economy, our jobs and our future. We don’t need to leave our fate to be decided by international shareholders

Winston’s war on wokeness

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, March 25th, 2025 - 41 comments

In what looked like an early election campaign launch Winston Peters has done his old man shaking his fist at the sky tirade against everything woke.

Reasons for Optimism

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, March 22nd, 2025 - 14 comments

We’re good, but we know we want better leadership.