Green Party calls for union membership as default setting for new employees
“Workers deserve the right to safe, fair and decent work, and being automatically a part of a collective is one of the best ways to ensure their rights will be fought for.”
workers' rights
Unions
Privatisation and Plunder
Privatisation and Plunder is essential reading for those who want to work for a society where prosperity for all is the aim.
Judith Collins’ Open Letter Is Dirty Politics
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
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
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
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
Partial strike law penalties used on nurses trying to keep themselves safe is emblematic of the wider libertarian playbook within the NZ government
Was it Luxon’s idea to cancel pay equity claims under urgency?
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.
Lies damned lies and Pay Equity Repeal excuses
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.
Climate change?
Chris Hipkins has released his priorities should he be Prime Minister. They do not include addressing climate change.
Repaired RSS feed highlights minister’s failing portfolios
Last week, I pointed out that Internal Affairs under Act Minister Brooke van Velden, had managed to lose RSS communications from the Beehive to the world. It’d been offline for about three weeks at that point. That was just sloppy and incompetent for the DIA who amongst other things are responsible for overseeing government technology services.
Most kiwis blame Willis for Ferry Fiasco
Recent polling suggests that two thirds of kiwis disagree with Nicola Willis’s decision to cancel the replacement Inter Island ferries contract.
President Biden’s Accomplishments
It’s common these days to see the rapid 2024 exit of multiple global social democrat leaders as just a post-COVID symptom of democratic impatience. But Biden achieved far more than his age-related decline obscures.
Labour day
Enjoying your weekend? Thank a unionist!
10,000 across the country meet to push back against government policies (PHOTOS)
Here are photos of the union protest around the country yesterday.
Notice: Protest Locations Today
Today is Protest Day – Stand Together. Here are the locations around the country and why you might feel moved to join.
Where’s the “Oomph”?
Join us to protest privatisation of health on the 23rd October. But can we have more oomph and co-ordination please?
Unions are still relevant
Unions have fought for the rights of employees in the past, present, and future.
Gormless Government releases confidential legal advice on Charter School law
The Government has mistakenly released confidential legal advice confirming that the Charter School legislation breaches ILO conventions, free trade agreements and potentially the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.
Where Does Labour Rebuild?
It won’t come from the working class. But we know where it will come from.
Maritime Union v Willis
National’s decision to cancel the replacement Cook Strait ferry project is developing into a full blown political crisis for the Government with estimates that it could cost the Crown up to a billion dollars and with further costs to come.
PSA wins an important case about collective agreements
The PSA just won an important case in the Employment Relations Authority against the Ministry of Education about collective agreements. There are significiant downstream implications to planned layoffs, legal fights, and Nicola Willis’s already tax cut strained budget.
Sham consultation – sham contracting
Minister for Workplace Relations and Health & Safety Brooke van Velden hasn’t met with the CTU Te Kauae Kaimahi since November last year. And has announced major proposed changes to workers rights and job conditions.
The political centre has moved, someone should tell the strategists.
30 years ago, we had Dot Matrix printers, Windows 95 and brick cell phones. Today we live in a world of AI, Tik Tok and 5G. While technology changes have been embraced, including in political campaigns, strategies and methods to connect with voters seem stuck in the MS-DOSS era.
Speech time
In the past week Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins have both delivered future vision themed speeches. With some dramatic contrasts.
Are we drifting away or falling apart?
What is the antidote for our socio-economic problems and how do we deal with this coalition government?
Uber Drivers in Court of Appeal
Uber Drivers are in the Court of Appeal today. Uber is appealing against Employment Court decision they they are employees with worker rights. Its a no-brainer, so they are and should have them.
Our Resistance
There are still groups of people in New Zealand who can and do organise to resist the damage of the right.
Why Labour must change course
“A Left government with any claim to progressive credentials will focus on three policy areas – first, high-quality, high value production; second, taxation measures to reduce significantly wealth differences; third, strengthened democracy, including industrial democracy beyond collective bargaining. These three are indispensable. A Left politics, which does not build on these three, will founder.”
90 day trials – Don’t come Monday
This coming week, under urgency and leading into Xmas, the Coalition government will expand 90-day trials to all workers, in yet another payback to National/ACT/NZ First’s (NAF) business backers.
Cutting fair pay agreements will disproportionately impact women, Māori and Pasifika and young people
The Cabinet Paper dealing with the Government’s proposal to do away with fair pay agreements has hit the media. And the advice suggests that Cabinet is completely disinterested in the on the ground reality of what their shitty policy will do to ordinary Kiwis.
National does a big sook
National, which perfected the art of dirty politics, and which has spent the past couple of years being relentlessly negative and which has had its sock puppets attack individual Labour MPs mercilessly is deeply, deeply, deeply upset that the CTU has pointed out to the public what a Christopher Luxon led Government would actually mean.
A letter to Chris Hipkins
My 2c on what I think Chris Hipkins needs to do to win this year’s election.
The Greens backing teachers’ demands
The Government needs to come to the table and ensure teacher pay keeps pace with the rising cost of putting food on the table, paying the rent, and keeping the house warm.
But, it’s important to remember that this is not just about pay. There are serious issues around funding and understaffing, ratios and sick leave.
Teanau Tuiono
Where is the Free Speech Union when you need it?
Rob Campbell is under some pressure from National and Act for calling out publicly the right’s dog whistle attacks on co governance. But so far self appointed protector of the right to freedom of speech, the Free Speech Union, has been very quiet. Why is this?
CTU – Put the cost of fixing inflation on those who caused it, not on working people
Given the real causes of high inflation, the idea that the answer to inflation is to cut wages, cut employment, and cut public services is ridiculous. It’s more than ridiculous. It’s immoral.