Paying a generous wage
Well paid staff are happy, productive staff. Who’d have thought it!
workers' rights
wages
How America is killing the middle class
A short film from AJ+ which clearly describes what has gone wrong in the US since the 1980s. The film is just as relevant for New Zealand.
The equal pay initiative
After twice killing off pay equity legislation (2009, 1990), National have been forced to confront the issue again.
Helen Kelly’s speech to the CTU Conference
Speech notes from Helen Kelly’s address to the CTU Conference given today where she talks about the importance of the union movement and some of the achievements she has been involved in over the past few years.
OIA on Zero Hours reveals just what an attack on workers it is.
We have the documents leading up to the what can only be described as a dreadful piece of law legalising employment agreements which tie workers to an employer without any of the reciprocity of guaranteed hours of work. At a time like now – where work in this country is so badly paid, with so little protection – we get this.
2.1 Times More Likely to get a pay rise…
If you still wonder WHY anyone would want to join a union, the fact that union members are 2.1 x more likely to get a pay rise might make you wade through the anti-union propaganda. Some unions escape scorn, like the Police Union which is referred to as an Association. It’s probably an oversight though, not anything deliberate…
#Talleyban. Standard Exclusive: MWU Blacklisted by Boss
Talleys has de-recognised the Meat Workers Union and refused to bargain with them. They have told the workers to set up a new, yellow union. Or else. Brighter Future? Not under National. This is what the recent changes in employment law were intended to achieve. It’s union busting in a brutal, thuggish form.
A thinking opposition
So the news on Labour’s first paper from its “Future of Work” Commission revolves around “ex-Labour member” Phil Quin noticing some missing quote marks and National making gleeful diversions from it. But of course what is actually important is the content.
Parasite Drive; the NBR Rich List
The NBR’s annual list of the one percent is out. No surprises that the growing inequality in New Zealand is working well for the parasites at the top of the hill.
Lets restrain those damnfool knights eh?
“THE struggle has been long and arduous. But gazing across the battered economies of the rich world it is time to declare that the fight against financial chaos and deflation is won. In 2015, the IMF says, for the first time since 2007 every advanced economy will expand.”. But lets restrain the damn fool ideological idiots from screwing it up. Like Bill English and his damn stupid taxcuts…
Older white men paid double young ethnic women
That’s not my headline. That’s Stuff’s business section’s headline.
ILO – 75% of world jobs insecure
Only a quarter of the world’s workers have permanent jobs. A worldwide trend away from secure jobs risked “perpetuating a vicious circle of weak global demand and slow job creation” that has dogged many countries since the 2008 crisis, the ILO reports. Decoupling of wages from productivity has led to a loss of aggregate demand the report estimates at $3.7trillion.
Dear Maccas, Burger King and Wendys, about those zero hour contracts
Following its success in persuading Restaurant Brands to do away with zero hour contracts Unite Union has set up a webpage where people can email these organisations.
Restaurant Brands to end zero hour contracts
Unite has achieved a significant victory by persuading Restaurant Brands to do away with zero hour contracts and to guarantee minimum working hours for staff.
Victory for the workers at Cotton On
FIRST Union has announced the ratification of the first ever collective agreement for workers at Cotton On.
On poverty, parenting, and Paula
In times of trouble for the National Party, you can always rely on them to raise the rallying cry of “Personal responsibility!!!”
The rich want to hide their wealth because of kidnap threats
The Liberal National Party Coalition in Australia want to overturn a requirement for corporations with a turnover of $100 million to disclose tax information on the grounds that kidnapping will occur even though the rich’s ostentatiousness is plain to see without the information being published. And in America it has been estimated that Wall Street’s bonus pool is twice the amount paid to full time American employees living on the minimum wage.
International travel perks for the people who got us into this mess?
The blogosphere leads the way in breaking a story about yet another sack of cash for MPs …
Gender pay gap still growing – of course
Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. In New Zealand the gender pay gap is growing – perhaps because National abolished the Department of Labour’s Pay and Employment Equity Unit.
Key folds on pay rises
Key has folded on MPs’ pay rises. Vernon Small and others are covering events on Twitter.
Labour takes a stand against zero-hour contracts
Zero-hour contracts are the perfect illustration of when “flexibility” in employment relations goes all one way.
The lie about productivity and wages
The Productivity Commission has a new report out which looks at changes in the labour income share, or LIS, from 1978 to 2010. […]
Labour’s plan vs National’s plan
The choice is clear.
Thumbs down for Joyce’s ministerial domain
A new report shows that Steven Joyce’s MBIE fiefdom is failing miserably. Meanwhile the MBIE is under fire for the major cost blow out of the Sky City Casino deal – another deal with Joyce’s imprints all over it.
Jobs That Count
The Meatworkers Union today launch a campaign for Jobs That Count – to try to get better conditions for these marginalised workers who face it all – seasonal work, dangerous jobs, casual and zero hours contracts and anti-union pressure.
‘Ditch the [misleading] rhetoric’
On RNZ this morning PSA National Secretary Richard Wagstaff criticised Bill English for his misleading rhetoric about rises in “average wages”. NZ’s income and wealth gaps have increased in recent decades. The lowest income remain low; the top earners get big salary increases.
Local Bodies: Government Responsible for Invercargill Poverty
The second annual Child Poverty Monitor was released today. bsprout on Local Bodies on poverty and inequalities in Invercargill, “provides a good snapshot of New Zealand society”.
The casualisation of work
Zero hour contracts, where an employee’s work hours are determined solely at the whim of the employer, are becoming increasingly common. The implications for the fight against poverty are dire.
Hickey on the living wage
Excellent piece by Bernard Hickey in The Herald this morning.
Unaffordable housing & the culture of greed
Rental housing remains unaffordable for many. The problem is the greed of investors & speculators, supported by a culture in which housing investment is seen as a way to individual prosperity.
The only way National know to grow the economy
On Firstline this morning, John Key tried to compare National’s and Labour’s policies by saying “You can’t grow the economy when you restrict labour laws.” It’s nonsense, and it’s scary.
Parker nails English on economic policy
Labour has the bold set of policies to take New Zealand forward into the 21st century – National’s “same old same old” tinkering will see the Kiwi skiff swamped. That was the clear conclusion from the debate between David Parker and Bill English on National Radio this morning.
How Dirty Politics hurt low-paid workers
While the right tries to distract and deflect from Dirty Politics, it pays to take a look at who got hurt by Cameron Slater and his buddies.
Leading voices: TV debates
There’s much to discuss on the two election-focused TV debates conducted over the last 24 hours. Prime TV’s new show: Prime Time with Sean Plunket – Bennett & Turei on poverty/inequality (Prime TV Fridays 9.30pm): TV 3’s The Nation: Saturday 9.30am
Spread the word: enrol to vote
Live News is reporting that 40,000 people have been removed from the electoral roll because they have moved address. Their enrolment update packs were returned to sender with the message: “gone no address”.
Labour – Raise the minimum wage
Labour is promising to raise the minimum wage to $16.25. It’s the right thing to do. And it doesn’t cost jobs.