Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, August 15th, 2013 - 19 comments
Percent of New Zealanders with not enough money to make ends meet: 15
Percent unemployed: 6.4
Written By: - Date published: 10:49 am, August 11th, 2013 - 36 comments
Following a successful application to access a sacked employee’s bank statements, Air New Zealand has had its right to insert a prima nocta clause into all of its employment agreements backed by the Employment Relations Authority.
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, August 8th, 2013 - 10 comments
Brand Key – CEO of NZ Inc, speculator, gambler, spinmeister – epitomises the “neoliberal revolution”. Gambling & other consumerist addictions are blamed on the individual. A court case against SkyCity shows the contradictory links between gambling, smoking, corporate influence & “insatiable consumerism.”
Written By: - Date published: 3:32 pm, August 7th, 2013 - 80 comments
So the economic data is out and unemployment is up and wages are flat – the lowest rate of wage increase since 2010. 45% of employees didn’t get a pay rise.
The reason the stats overall aren’t worse is the big increase in employment in Canterbury, as the government relies on an earthquake-led recovery. The number of unemployed is still up 46% since National took office. That’s 48,000 Kiwis who would rather be working.
Still waiting for that Brighter FutureTM.
Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, August 7th, 2013 - 9 comments
There’s a Guardian-led campaign in the UK at the moment over “zero-hour contracts” – contracts that guarantee an employee no hours, and often leave them on-call at a moment’s notice to fulfil the employers whim. They’re common here, but I don’t expect a major newspaper to run with it…
Written By: - Date published: 12:44 pm, August 2nd, 2013 - 10 comments
A recent report claims there is little economic benefit from tax payer funding for big overseas movies. Key’s damaging love of big Hollywood corporates is seen in the complex of Hobbit laws, intellectual copyright, secret TPP negotiations, & the Kim Dotcom-GCSB-Vance saga.
Written By: - Date published: 8:35 am, August 2nd, 2013 - 12 comments
In its submission on the Pike River bill, New Zealand’s second largest mining company has told Select Committee that workers can’t be trusted to look after their own health and safety, and everything’s just fine the way it is.
But at the same time one of their mines has been partially closed due to a safety hazard.
Written By: - Date published: 6:06 am, August 1st, 2013 - 83 comments
It has been obvious that some people live in a different world than the rest of us. One where Chicago school economics, work! One where you save the village by blowing it up! One where global warming can be stopped, Canute like, by legislation. One where dropping wages and giving everything to bloated financiers, makes […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, July 26th, 2013 - 43 comments
Over the coming weeks I’m going to go through each of National’s changes to employment law to show how they will make our workplaces less fair and reduce Kiwis’ pay.
The first is the change allowing the boss to refuse to negotiate a collective agreement.
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 pm, July 25th, 2013 - 7 comments
Philip McHardy was killed while working in a pine plantation block in Overton Forest Winton on 31 August 2011. He worked for Don Contracting and was working in a Southern Forest NZ Ltd managed forest.
Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, July 25th, 2013 - 37 comments
It is a national evil that any class of Her Majesty’s subjects should receive less than a living wage in return for their utmost exertions… where you have what we call sweated trades, you have no organisation, no parity of bargaining, the good employer is undercut by the bad and the bad by the worst; …
Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, July 25th, 2013 - 87 comments
UK children born on the same day as the new prince will get a silver penny: but their lives will be vastly different. Left foot Forward spells out the inequalities between these new born. John Key gushes over the new prince, while his government slashes, burns and fuels inequalities.
Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, July 25th, 2013 - 97 comments
The Employment Relations Act Part 6A ensures that jobs are transferred to a new contractor, on the same terms, if a firm is restructured. Naturally the Nats plan to abolish it.
Written By: - Date published: 6:52 am, July 23rd, 2013 - 28 comments
Let’s hope that workers’ rights and safety are protected in the wake of the Wellington quakes.
Written By: - Date published: 11:57 am, July 21st, 2013 - 8 comments
The Government has been warned that the Employment Relations Amendment Bill is likely to breach ILO conventions. Bridges has responded by saying that the breaches “may not be significant”. Why is it that the Government gets all hard core when dealing with beneficiaries legal obligations but is so casual when it deals with its own obligations?
Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, July 17th, 2013 - 16 comments
Sean Mortensen was killed at Robin Hood Bay, Port Underwood in Marlborough. He was 34 years old. He worked for Pelorus Contracting Ltd and was in a forest managed by Merrill and Ring Ltd.
Written By: - Date published: 12:36 pm, July 7th, 2013 - 33 comments
Judge Jane Farish has ordered Pike River to pay $110,000 compensation for each of the families who suffered the loss of a loved one. But the various parties are not committing as yet to making sure that the compensation is paid. Justice demands that every cent is paid.
Written By: - Date published: 6:55 pm, July 1st, 2013 - 13 comments
Over 30,000 aged care workers and tens of thousands of other low paid women workers are awaiting the decision of the Employment Court in relation to an Equal Pay Case heard this week. The Court was hearing a case brought by the Service and Food Workers Union, on behalf of $14.32 an hour senior caregiver […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, June 28th, 2013 - 15 comments
Four contenders with excellent track records. Some important issues for the electorate have been highlighted, especially related to poverty, jobs, education, and affordable housing. Some commentators claim tomorrow’s by-election will be a test of this or that party’s strength.[update: RNZ interviews]
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, June 27th, 2013 - 11 comments
There’s something to be said for Fairfax and Westpac’s launch of the Women of Influence NZ awards. Many women do not receive social recognition, or a fair financial reward, for their valuable contributions to society. The Fairfax-Westpac, right-leaning, individualistic awards foreground money, profits, leadership and business.
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, June 25th, 2013 - 67 comments
Labour Minister Sim0n Bridges has been trying to justify the latest round of attacks on workers’ rights by saying the law currently requires workers to be union members for the first 30 days on a new job and that people ought to have choice. That’s a lie. The law Bridges wants to throw out says new workers can’t be paid less than union rates, not that you have to join the union.
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 pm, June 24th, 2013 - 22 comments
John Ryall writes on the case of long-term caregiver Kristine Bartlett who took a landmark case to the Employment court this morning. It is on the application of the Equal Pay Act 1972 into gender segmented work. Hopefully this will help reduce the lack of progress on closing our male-female wage gap.
Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, June 23rd, 2013 - 121 comments
An interesting couple of interviews. Jamie-Lee Ross admits he took advice on strikebreaking from the Ports of Auckland Ltd, and Darien Fenton makes it clear what National are up to, and (note to Labour’s press team) shows why she should be fronting serious media more often.
Written By: - Date published: 3:50 pm, June 22nd, 2013 - 34 comments
I am reading a very interesting book on the role of Collective Bargaining in the Global Economy (Edited by Susan Hayter). It confirms for me the importance of getting political support to change the labour laws in New Zealand to support industry level/sector wide bargaining…
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, June 20th, 2013 - 84 comments
Blame beneficiaries, blame the young, blame the old, blame the boomers, blame Maori, blame Pakeha, blame granny, hell, why don’t we just blame the Jews! Anything except place the blame where it belongs. On successive Governments who have sold us out to the rich, and offshore corporates. And the system which allows a few stupid […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, June 19th, 2013 - 23 comments
The Speaker’s list of lobbyists has doubled over the last year. “Neoliberal” & corporate entities have the balance of power. Journalists & PR merchants get more influence than the marginalised, low income & politically disengaged. Social media is a means to counter such influence. [Update: Bunji, NRT]
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 pm, June 18th, 2013 - 30 comments
Simon Bridges’ loose relationship with the truth has got him in trouble just a few weeks into his first big test as Minister of Labour. It started last week when he got caught off guard by an innocuous question from Darien Fenton…
Written By: - Date published: 3:24 pm, June 18th, 2013 - 28 comments
The Nats’ strike breaking Bill is in trouble, with the Employers & Manufacturers Association and Peter Dunne both stating their opposition. Let’s hope it’s another win for workers and for MMP.
Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, June 18th, 2013 - 50 comments
Many praise Jackson and Weta for the work it brings to NZ. However, a recent US-focused survey by Scott Squires, shows how subsidies, like that for the Hobbit, plus lack of unionisation are contributing to increasing exploitation, income insecurity and competition among skilled VFX workers internationally. [Update: Squires’ response]
Written By: - Date published: 9:55 am, June 14th, 2013 - 85 comments
Key’s government is continuing its attack on workers’ rights, pay, conditions & collective bargaining with Jami-Lee Ross’s ‘Strike Breaking’ Bill. Darien Fenton, the CTU & EPMU say why it is wrong. All parties and MPs should oppose this and other proposed changes to employment law.
Written By: - Date published: 3:41 pm, June 11th, 2013 - 71 comments
There is nothing ‘moderate’ about pushing policy that increases the power of the powerful and reduces the power of those dependent on them for a living, says the EPMU’s Rachel Mackintosh.
National’s employment changes will drive wages down and increase insecurity and poverty in this country.
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