QC describes Pike River mine as a ‘homicide scene’
On Checkpoint Nigel Hampton QC described the Pike River mine as a ‘crime scene’ and a ‘homicide scene’, and he questioned the motives of those rushing to seal the mine.
Economy
workers’ rights
Andrew Little: Promises to Pike families must be kept
Yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of the Pike River disaster. Here is a statement released by Andrew Little urging that the mine not be sealed and the deaths of the miners be investigated and their bodies brought home.
Six years on, the government still lies about Pike River
For six years the families of the men who died at Pike River have not had clear answers about what happened. From the Pike River Royal Commission, they got some answers. From the government, nothing but lies.
Pike River anniversary: what have we become?
Six years ago this morning, 31 men went to work in a coal mine. 29 of them still lay there.
Pike River Mine can be safely re-entered – but the Government says no
Damien O’Connor and Denise Roche have taken it to Nick Smith in the House today over the government’s plan to seal Pike River mine forever.
Kindness
It has been a terrible year. People should think about being kind to each other and looking after each other.
Sonya Rockhouse: This isn’t just about our families. It’s about all of us
“Now six years later, the Government is moving to seal the mine. They are literally putting hundreds of tonnes of concrete between us and our boys. Between the whole world and whatever evidence of what happened is down there.”
Remembering what happened at Pike
What exactly happened at Pike River? The families of the 29 men who died don’t know, and as Solid Energy moves to seal the mine forever, they demand justice.
#StandWithPike
The Pike River families have decided to take a stand and are occupying the road to the mine to ensure it cannot be closed, sealing up the evidence of what happened and the bodies of their loved ones forever.
Kia kaha, Pike River families
The Pike River families will be protesting tomorrow to get their men out of the mine that killed them.
Don’t mourn, organise
What all good progressives should be doing in these POTUS Trump days.
Trump final campaign ad
Donald Trump’s last campaign ad lifts the mood of a relentlessly negative campaign between two massively disliked candidates.
Andrew Little: Winning together
In advance of the Labour Party conference this weekend Andrew Little’s message is that the polls are neck and neck, that Labour is winning on many issues and that if we work together the left can win the next election.
Unemployment apples and oranges
A fall in the jobless rate is superficially good news, but most of the “fall” since May is due to changes in the way the measure is calculated. Wages remain flat, though less so for union members.
Through the Looking Glass.
The culture being addressed will be familiar enough to many here in NZ who deal with Work and Income. Government strategies to address that culture? Well, that’s another story. This isn’t just happening half a world away. It might as well be happening in another universe – back on the sane side of some looking glass NZ has fallen through.
Workers’ rights – the Uber ruling
Recent decision in the UK is a victory for workers and their rights.
The Dreamworld tragedy is a perfect metaphor for a failing system
The loss of four lives at the Dreamworld fun park in the Gold Coast suggests that the corporate greed is good mantra is not working as well as we should expect.
Michael Moore: why blowing up the system and voting for Trump will feel good
Trump is the “human molotov cocktail” that many Americans have been waiting for.
Farewell Helen Kelly
Updated with video of the service. Details of the memorial service celebrating Helen Kelly’s life scheduled for today.
Happy Labour day
From the movement that brought you equal pay, the weekend, minimum wages, child protection laws, injury prevention, the right to organise …
Workers, unions and the Labour party
Convincing workers not to organise in their own best interests is one of the great successes of right-wing politics.
DHBs telling porkies about junior doctors’ strike
Junior doctors are speaking out against the misinformation being spread by DHBs.
Working with Helen
I worked with Helen at the CTU for about seven years from 2008.
Helen Kelly: Just plain good
I’m going to miss you, mate.
Victory! Fast-food workers get fully guaranteed hours
UNITE Union members have won big following the banning of zero-hour contracts.
More people taking strike action over low wages and insecure work
Members of FIRST Union are striking over terrible pay and conditions at Brand Developers TV Shop.
Solidarity with junior doctors
Junior doctors taking strike action are being bullied and threatened that they’ll harm their careers.
Trump physically slams WWE billionaire McMahon to the ground, mercilessly mutilates him
Definitive documentary evidence of Trump the violent, volatile, unpredictable sociopath revealed.
Colinoscopy
In which we learn that Colin Craig had already lost another case months before being done over in his defamation trial.
A tale of Two Universities
A guest post by John P Egan regarding recent industrial action taken by Tertiary Education Union members
HoliPay fiasco – 1 in 3 workers robbed
Do you work irregular shifts (even only occasionally)? Overtime? Sometimes on Public Holidays?
Then you’re probably part of the 1 in 3 workers owed more than $2 billion lost thru incorrect calculations of holiday pay.
Thanks Steven Joyce.
Rockstar! Is it?
National is very proud of the latest GDP-growth figures (third highest in OECD!), but are they helping you? And are they what they appear?
Translating the local government election jargon
The PSA has produced a nice guide to cut through all the buzzwords in local body elections.
India’s general strike
The world’s biggest general strike ever occurred this month in India.
Chloe King – John Key, I am a low waged worker, and neither “lazy” nor “drug addled”
Blogger and social activist Chloe King, one of the hundreds of thousands of low waged workers in this country was devastated by John Key’s comments suggesting that she and others were lazy and had no work ethic. This is her response.
NZ: Home of Rugby, Raping and Beer
The whitewash of the rugby players who assaulted a woman at a post season piss up has been released. A mightily relieved rugby boss Steve Tew can now go into the rest of the season knowing that the All Black squad will not be affected by the loss of any players to suspension. The only person to have lost their job over the incident is the victim. How cool is that?