Reminder: Pay Equity Faxathon
Quick reminder – today’s Pay Equity Faxathon Day, your chance to have a go at State Services Minister Tony Ryall for his decision […]
Economy
workers’ rights
665 jobs lost since Jobs Summit
If you believe the Government’s spin, protecting jobs in this recession is their number one priority. They even held a big fancy Jobs […]
Fire at will causing discrimination already
The Herald reports the fire at will law is already claiming victims, after Sue Bradford revealed a beneficiary has been denied help for […]
Govt set to deny low-paid workers basic rights
The National government couldn’t hold off democracy forever, so today we are graced with the first members’ day of the new term. And […]
What is to be done?
Kudos to the Maori Party’s Rahui Katene for using her position to highlight the situation at Sealord in Parliament today. But it’s Paula […]
Key writes off Sealord jobs
Despite making sound profits Sealord are laying off 180 workers in Nelson. They claim the move is part of restructuring and that there […]
National’s real rolling maul
You know what we haven’t heard Key talk about in a long time? Closing the wage gap with Australia. Now he’s in power, is […]
Real choices
Kate Wilkinson’s attempts to defend the fire at will bill are getting increasingly desperate. She’s just put out an excited press release where […]
The Fire at Will campaign
It’s good to see the Council of Trade Unions offering solidarity to non-union workers who are subject to National’s fire at will law […]
What it’s about
One of the most disappointing things about the debate over National’s fire at will law is how little its supporters understand the basic […]
Let the Nats know that women matter too
National/ACT’s record for women so far has been dismal . Their work rights have been slashed by the Fire at Will law (women […]
The idiocy of “glorious defeat”
Chris Trotter has decided to take umbrage at my post about the 1951 lockout. I wouldn’t usually reply to such criticism but this […]
Stupid and mean
Today marks the first time in over a decade that workers’ rights have got weaker. From today new workers in small businesses will […]
Nineteen fifty one
Today marks the anniversary of Holland’s deployment of the army to break the waterfront union in 1951. The documentary produced for the dispute’s […]
Airbrushing at will
Via Farrar’s site I’ve come across this a lovely piece of Government spin. It’s a PDF document checking off everything National’s done in […]
Previewing the jobs summit
Tomorrow, John Key’s much anticipated jobs summit will take place. It’s a big deal, it’s got a logo and everything. Unfortunately, John seems […]
Being stupid on the economy
Brian Fallow has some extraordinarily good analysis of the economic situation in his piece today. Here’s some important passages (and my, unfortunately, extensive […]
Actions speak louder than words
Remember this infamous PowerPoint presentation from National’s 2005 campaign? Remember the Nats’ vote-winning strategy of targeting female voters as outlined in The Hollow […]
That’s strange
An hour ago No Right Turn posted a piece citing what was apparently a Ministry of Social Development press release, which he says was “confirmation that […]
Employer opposes wage increases – shock!
Yesterday I expressed concern about Unite’s referendum on indexing the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage on practical grounds while strongly […]
Minimum wage rise a small but important victory for the Left
Great, through concerted pressure the Left managed to force a 9-cent an hour real increase in the minimum wage from National/ACT. A 9 cent an […]
On the minimum wage referendum
The Unite Union has reacted to the Government’s miserly adjustment to the minimum wage by initiating a referendum on tying the minimum wage […]
More than words
I see the Maori Party has come out saying the increase in the minimum wage to $12.50 an hour isn’t enough, and that […]
Labour calls for $13 minimum wage
Phil Goff has come out strongly in anticipation of today’s minimum wage announcement from the Government with a call for an immediate increase […]
Es ist mein teil
This year, the economy will shrink (at least) 1%. At the same time, the population will grow 1% (at least, growth may be […]
Who cares if it’s just PR?
There is a rumour in the Dom Post and the Herald that the minimum wage will be announced today and the Nats are […]
Employment numbers have both good and bad news
The new employment data for the December quarter are out and they’re surprising reading. Now, the media will grab hold of the headline unemployment figure. At 4.6%, […]
Does raising the minimum wage really hurt employment?
National’s excuse for illegally* failing to complete the annual review of the minimum wage is that it wants to ensure any increase doesn’t […]
Splits and divisions on minimum wage
So Cabinet has deferred its decision on the minimum with John Key simply promising “it won’t be very far away at all”. Now […]
The Standard wager
Today, Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson will be presenting a paper to her Cabinet colleagues regarding the minimum wage. The Department of Labour recommended […]
Biz NZ opposes minimum wage increase
As we reported on Monday, the Cabinet is set to review the minimum wage. The Labour Department recommended maintaining its purchasing power by […]
Wage for minimum wage workers set to drop
In the Bay Report in December 2007, John Key was quoted as saying “we would love to see wages drop“. Inexplicably, the media […]
A pointless symbolic distraction. At best.
I’m the last person who’d criticise freezing the pay of our MPs but John Key’s cynical opportunism is at best a piece of […]
What National’s Kiwisaver cuts mean for you
The Council of Trade Unions has done some research showing a worker with a Kiwisaver account will stand to lose as much as […]
Key delivers a Christmas kicking for workers
We always said that a National/ACT government would be anti-worker but I’m surprised by how blatant they are being about it. In a […]
Police spied on Unite Union too
Matt McCarten, head of the Unite Union, has just released emails showing police informant Rob Gilchrist gave the police spy unit details about […]