Some have compared the Port of Auckland dispute to the 1890 waterfront dispute, 1913 general strike, and 1951 lockout. They want Labour and the Greens to get involved. Actually, this is no 1951 redux. The POA fight is just about one company trying to undercut another. The net effect on New Zealand is zero. The last thing the workers need is Labour creating an excuse for National to attack them.
The Port of Auckland and its National Party allies would have you believe that the stevedores are monsters for not be willing to accept a 20% pay cut so that POA can try to undercut Port of Tauranga (where’s the ‘national interest’ in that, again?). But, let’s hear from these workers, and their families, as they struggle to protect their livelihood.
The Productivity Commission reports that freight costs are 25% higher here than in Australia and freight costs as a % of cargo value has risen in recent years. Their solution? Make the public and port workers poorer by privatisation and casualisation. Of course, those are ideological goals, not solutions to the freight cost issue, which has nothing to do with ports.
A leaked Ports of Auckland strategy document shows their goal is to reduce the stevedores’ wages by 20%. They were planning to manufacture a crisis even before the stevedores’ collective expired. They’ve been rumbled breaking the law by not bargaining in good faith. Their political support will now evaporate. They should cut their losses, and a deal with the workers, now.
National high flyer Jami-Lee Ross, Ports of Auckland’s chief shill, and Fran O’Sullivan all joined the fray over the port dispute yesterday. How does their line that the workers are overpaid marry with the Port’s claim that they’re offering pay rises? Does the Port project its wage bill would rise or fall if its offer were to be accepted? And what to make of this ‘national interest’ line?
There has been some interesting material floating around in comments and on facebook about the Ports of Auckland waterside disputing workers wages. Looks like we are starting to get some more information outside of the right wing nut job sites. Ultimately the information has to be provided by the Ports of Auckland because they are the only organisation that holds the wages data across employees. But the figures provided by the P0A (the 91k) include overtime payments, shift payments, superannuation subsidies, medical insurance subsidies and hardly constitute a normal wage that the employee would see..
My challenge (as part of my new life as expert communications / campaign / recruitment consultant to the stars) over the next 6 weeks is to encourage 1000 union members to bring their family into the union family for just $1 a week. That’s 1000 people who are already members of a union affiliated to the CTU to sign up their own family and whanau members to Together
They say that the nice thing about Cameron Slater is he’ll believe whatever he’s paid to believe. Yesterday, I asked whether Slater is being paid to run dirt stories for Ports of Auckland. He didn’t deny it. So what is the Port’s propagandist up to? Yesterday, he was calling for the workers’ pay to be slashed while defending the directors’ massive fees.
Update: Ports of Auckland denies paying Slater anything.
Other day, Curran asked what they should do with Red Alert. Now, Mallard’s again using it, in conjunction with Pagani on his blog, to try to do an end run around his own party to promote benefit ‘reform’. Leaving aside the fact it’s the employment system, not the backstop, that’s broken, this is more strategic idiocy.
Since my post yesterday, Ports of Auckland has upped the ante threatening to sack all its workers and contract out (to quick and loud cheers from the National-aligned blogs they are working with – Cameron Slater’s rate is $10,000 for an operation like this). What they’re proposing is a breach of the law and wouldn’t work, but its just setting the scene for the next stage.
The Right is up to its old tricks over the Ports of Auckland. It’s the usual pattern: make up some bullshit about how the workers are spoiled and unreasonable, cry that the sky will fall if the company doesn’t get its way, and (this is the long-game) suggest privatisation as the solution. What you haven’t heard is the cause of the ‘crisis’: the Port’s attempt to cut the workers’ conditions and pay.
Katherine Rich attacks the waterside union in an opinion piece today.
But that’s not surprising given she’s being paid to speak on behalf of some of the biggest corporations in the world.
Anyone would think there’s some kind of connection between how strong unions are and how big a slice of the pie the rich can take for themselves…
In a heart-warming Christmas story, 111 workers have stood strong and faced down Canterbury Meat Packers, which locked them out for2 months to extort a 20% wage cut and make them work harder for less money. It’s not a total victory, there will be small pay cuts, but they won improved conditions and they’re back at work. United, workers win.
There’s a new union in town and who knows? it might just prove to be the salvation of the union movement (so you can put money […]
CTU President Helen Kelly talks about Pike River and the death of security guard Charanpreet Singh Dhaliwal and what these tragedies tell us […]
Six weeks ago CMP workers were locked out for refusing to accept a 20% pay cut.
Tomorrow there will be fundraising protests around the country to support them.
The Nats won’t give employees greater access to pay information to detect gender pay disparities, saying employees suspecting gender discrimination should a labour inspector to find the evidence. When 261 workers did just that the govt said it wouldn’t look for evidence of discrimination without evidence there was discrimination.
It’s a year since the explosion at Pike River killed 29 men. Just people like you and me doing their job. It seems some semblance of justice may be delivered to those who let this disaster happen. But the lasting legacy must be a change of culture and regulations to put people’s lives before companies’ profits. So no more suffer the fate of the Pike River 29.
Labour’s fisheries policy will phase-in a requirement for fishing vessels to be at least 50% Kiwi-crewed and at least 50% of processing would have to occur here. Good start. It’s our fish – it should be harvested sustainably to create Kiwi jobs with fair pay and adequate conditions. The shame of slave fishing has to be ended.
Labour want to raise the minimum wage to $15. The Nats say that will cost jobs (they want to lower the minimum wage instead). Documents obtained by 3 News show that Treasury think the Nats are wrong. A vote for increasing the minimum wage will not cost jobs.
Unemployment up again. Key had bet on some kind of economic boost from the RWC. It didn’t happen. 3,000 more jobs lost in the last quarter. There’s 59,000 more people out of work since the Nats won power. It’s like a whole city the size of Hamilton has gone out of work under National. This government has the worst economic record in generations.
Over 100 meat workers have now been locked out for 10 days at the Canterbury Meat Packers works in Rangitikei. They are told they must sign an agreement that cuts pay by 25% and loses conditions in order to return to work. Some migrant workers face deportation if they lose their jobs. It’s a disgrace; they all need our support. Here’s how you can help.
Labour candidate for Northcote Paula Gillon has submitted us a post on National’s proposed starting Youth Rate that appears to be ready for peer-review – with academic references and everything.
There’s a lot going on with the Qantas lockout that isn’t being reported in our media.
This guest post from a reader who’s an aviation industry expert gives the dispute some context.
The Nats want to extend the new entrants wage from 200hrs/3 months to 6 months. Won’t create jobs. Most businesses don’t bother with the new entrants wage anyway. word is, though, that the NE wage is a red herring. The guts of the policy will be a broad-spectrum on the rights of workers to organise and bargain designed to drive down wages
You won’t find much praise for Talley’s on this site. But, fair dues, they harvest their fish with Kiwi crews and have this to say on slave fishing: “If it is uneconomic to harvest a New Zealand resource under New Zealand labour conditions and costs then it is not a resource. Blood diamonds and Asian textile sweatshops use the same justification”
It’s disappointing to see the Dom joining with the Right’s mouthpieces in attacking Labour’s work and wages policy. The editorial says of course “something” must be done about low and inequitable wages but opposes introducing a system modeled on the one that delivers high wages in Australia. Meanwhile bosses are putting the screws on to cut workers’ pay.
St. Augustine said “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet”. Was reminded of that reading the Tories’ reaction to Labour’s work and wages policy. Tories say they want you to have higher wages. But not yet. It’s always later. Once you’ve earned it. In the ‘brighter future’. And they’ll scream blue murder any time you demand what you deserve today.
“We need more cheap foreign fishermen” says the slave fishing lobby group. They say that it’s just like Fisher & Paykel moving their production offshore for cheaper labour. Well, tell you want, slave-fishers, how about you fuck off to China and we’ll stay here and fish our fish ourselves without breaking labour and environment laws? NoRightTurn takes up the story.
update: Labour’s policy is here. Looks good. $15 minimum wage. Mondayisation of holidays. Industry standards to stop bad employers undercutting ones that pay fair wages. Good for workers. Good for good bosses. It’s a lot like the system the Aussies have. You know, the people whose wages we’re meant to be catching up with. The Tories are whinging. Like they do whenever anyone fights for higher wages
Word around the traps is Labour is working on a significant new wage policy. Good – like nearly every other deregulated market the labour market has been failing Kiwis for more than twenty years. It’s time to bring some balance back into the system. Let’s just hope Labour has the guts to make a proper job of it.
Over at Wheelers corner in the Manwatu there is this rather classic post about a conversation overheard in a cafe. It really does stand on its own as a tombstone to a departing MP.
Can we afford 3 more years of falling real wages under Key?
The median (‘typical’) Kiwi income has fallen 6% under National after inflation. It’s worse if you’re Maori – 16%. And if you’re PI? 21%. That’s more than a hundred dollars a week. It’s a disgrace. In fact, ordinary people’s incomes have shrunk faster than the economy under National. Their policies have driven more of what’s left to the rich.
National’s economic credibility was shot to pieces last week when Fitch and Standard & Poor’s gave them ‘not achieved’ marks. Less than a quarter of the OECD has been downgraded. New Zealand is one of them. The Nats won’t admit there’s a problem. When the statistics are laid in front of them, they say they’re wrong. In the Nats’ war with reality, we’re the victims.
