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.
The stop the GCSB Bill meeting in Auckland last night was well attended and had a series of high quality presentations made. A series of protests are planned for this weekend. Momentum is building …
The public trusts Kim Dotcom more than John Key (no surprise), and Journalist Selwyn Manning describes “some breaking news from Dotcom” on what Key knew, and when…
The Nats have created a beneficiary bashing culture so rigid and so nasty that crazy stuff happens. They cry some crocodile tears about it – but only for cases publicised by the media.
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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.
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; …
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.
Generation Zero are running petition targeting the Auckland transport system. You can sign it here.
Winston Peters may be the king maker after the next election. No wonder that John Key has started to court the person he said as a matter of principle he would never have in his Government.
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.
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… and if you don’t like them, I have others. Key once said he’d never have Peters in any government he led, now he’s reconsidering. Peters is playing hard to get, and Gower tries to be part of the story as usual, promoting 3 News’ own poll.
Check out this post by former All Black Captain Anton Oliver on the blog over at New Zealand Story.
To say that the GCSB law changes are misguided is the kindest possible interpretation, but many people including myself tend to view them as being quite malevolent. They aren’t going to provide any more security for citizens and residents here. But they are going to provide more security for incompetents in the security and police forces from both public and legal scrutiny. There are series of protests planned, and one in Auckland tomorrow. Updated – packed.
Key’s wringing his hands, saying that the Reserve bank is likely to bring in loan to value ratio requirements without an exception for first home buyers but claiming that first home buyers are still his priority. If that were true, he would have done his part to tackle the real problems in the housing market: speculators, foreign buyers, and lack of affordable home building.
Peter Dunne said that the GCSB should not spy on New Zealanders “under any circumstances”, but he will now vote to let that happen. He has made himself a liar and a hypocrite. Why? 3 News and others speculate on what Dunne might have got in return. What was his price?
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The latest poll results are [fantastic/terrible]!
Alan Turing may get a pardon from the UK government. Turing made major contributions to the development of computing and maths, but was also subjected to damaging surveillance, suspicion and dehumanisation because of his sexuality. Nothing to hide, nothing to fear? How to promote digital democracy?
I was hoping that Peter Dunne was going to make a stand on Kiwi’s rights of privacy. Looks like I was wrong …
The Natural Disaster Fund is filled by the EQC levy you pay on your home insurance (currently, $200 a year) and is there to cover EQC payouts. Now, the Fund sits empty. So what happens if there’s another big one, or even a medium-size quake – as is likely and as the Wellington quakes have reminded us is possible? Key would try to borrow billions.
Let’s hope that workers’ rights and safety are protected in the wake of the Wellington quakes.
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Predictably, Peter Dunne has caved. Vance and Small with the details.
The Nats used to make a career out of faux “nanny state” hysteria. Now they want to ID number and track beneficiaries’ kids in pre-school. Paul Little warns of “the surveillance state that we are becoming”.
…happier – according to preliminary research from the University of Melbourne.
Let’s not sideline the GCSB and related surveillance Bills. It’s about democracy, and against further consolidation of the power of the international, “neoliberal” corporate elites. Nation wide demos this Saturday; public meeting in Auckland this Thursday evening. Phil Goff resists, but bends a little too far. [Update] Protest poster
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Three News’ latest poll tonight doesn’t look good for Labour.
Venue for discussing the quakes that have hit Wellington and other centers in middle NZ.
Take care all.
Over the last few weeks Labour has been in a state of agitation as the party, the affiliates and even the caucus have come to the realisation that the Shearer project has failed.
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?
A Sunday feature – each week a random section scanned from a copy of The Standard, September 15th, 1938. Find out more here.
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