web analytics
The Standard
Advertising

employment

Categories under employment

  • No categories

Stick a fork in Port management, they’re done

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, January 13th, 2012 - 264 comments

ports picket

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.

Workers worried about job security

Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, January 12th, 2012 - 33 comments

unemployment

Employment confidence has plunged to its lowest level in 2 years, according to the latest Westpac survey. A bosses’ shill says workers are wrong to be worried about their jobs. Unfortunately, the bosses have been promising us that everything’s going to be OK for four years now, and workers have a good track record on picking the state of the job market.

What’s really going on at Ports of Auckland 2

Written By: - Date published: 8:03 am, January 10th, 2012 - 255 comments

contracting out munz

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.

Trading Futures

Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, December 2nd, 2011 - 74 comments

orange man breaking free 1

This post is intended to do more than merely generate discussion. It’s a serious proposition seeking action. Its intent is to lay out or sign post (at least some of) the basic or necessary legal and social structures of a Community Collective comprised of both workers and housing collectives that would enable people to assume meaningful control over aspects of their futures.

Law firm sets out business wish list

Written By: - Date published: 7:09 am, December 1st, 2011 - 97 comments

lazy-rich-guy

Law firm Chapman Tripp has taken it upon itself to summarise the business community’s expectations for National’s second term.  Back to youth rates, and that’s just for starters.

How we got where we are

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, November 24th, 2011 - 39 comments

economy-bad-shape

Last election we had a choice between competent economic management and a bunch of hollow promises. We made a poor choice then, and the record shows that we have wasted three years as a result.  Coming up to this election we don’t need more tired Nat excuses, we need solutions. Bring back Labour!

Labour’s jobs policy

Written By: - Date published: 1:04 pm, November 16th, 2011 - 34 comments

goff-income-jobs 1

Now that we’re all over Nice Mr Key, maybe we can focus on minor details like the environment, the economy, assets, and jobs…

Creating opportunities

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, November 13th, 2011 - 16 comments

dole street

The Nats admit that they’ve failed to close the gap between rich and poor.  In fact, of course, it’s getting worse.  Bill English says they’ve “created opportunities”, which is Tory speak for doing nothing at all.

Another empty promise

Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, November 2nd, 2011 - 61 comments

dole street

National says it’ll get 57,000 more people off benefits and into work over 4 years. That would require 50% more job creation than Treasury projects. Unless you do something about the lack of jobs, you won’t get benefit numbers down. Promising the latter without doing the former is a fraud on New Zealand. Just another broken Nat promise waiting to happen.

CEOs rake it in while their corporations dodge taxes.

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, September 3rd, 2011 - 14 comments

executive-excess-2011-cover

Guns don’t kill people, the old saw goes. People do. By the same token, corporations don’t dodge taxes. People do. The people who run corporations are reaping awesomely lavish rewards for the tax dodging they have their corporations do. A report from the Institute of Policy Studies shows that 25 major U.S. corporations last year paid their chief executives more than they paid Uncle Sam in federal income taxes. Creative accounting is also a problem here.

Hold the front page!

Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, September 3rd, 2011 - 48 comments

key-with-baby

Remember those thundering editorials and opinion pieces chastising Labour for focusing on trivia instead of the substantive issues?

Earning or learning

Written By: - Date published: 1:33 pm, September 1st, 2011 - 91 comments

Unemployed Youth (2)

This afternoon Labour released a substantial policy package targeting youth unemployment.  Once again the public is being offered a choice between Labour’s realistic response to a significant problem, and more do-nothing smile and wave.

Cuts and consequences

Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, August 25th, 2011 - 21 comments

half of invite

The government reckons it can cut the number of public sector workers without cutting services. That wasn’t the experience of the 80s and 90s when vital institutional knowledge and expertise were lost in a frenzy of asset sales,  privatisation and brutal job cuts– when public service numbers dropped from around 85,000 public servants  to under  30,000 …

Nats refuse to face their record on youth

Written By: - Date published: 6:46 am, August 17th, 2011 - 45 comments

dole street

Having decided to beat up on a few thousand of the most hard done by young people in the country, National is now refusing to acknowledge the problem of disconnected youth that has ballooned under their watch. There are enough young people who aren’t in education, training, or work to fill Eden Park, and Key is literally running from the issue.

Breeding for a business?

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, August 1st, 2011 - 76 comments

dole street

A typical shock horror headline on Stuff in the weekend – “Pre-teens dream of kids and dole”.  So what’s going on here, and is it an argument for “welfare reform”?

The problem is not in the schools

Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, July 20th, 2011 - 90 comments

pink-floyd-another-brick-in-the-wall

According to a recent report, disadvantaged NZ youth are at the “bottom of OECD league”.  The report recommends various interventions in schools.  The recommendations completely miss the point, because the problem is not in the schools, the problem is in society.

Nats block pay equity bill

Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, July 6th, 2011 - 11 comments

rosie

The Nats are all in favour of pay equity for women.  Or so they say.  But their actions speak louder than their words.

No future in NZ?

Written By: - Date published: 7:14 am, June 28th, 2011 - 205 comments

hitchhiker

John Key was elected promising to stop the exodus to Australia. He has failed.  More and more Kiwis, especially the young, are leaving.  And is it any wonder?

Sexist dinosaur Nats

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, June 27th, 2011 - 58 comments

rosie

Employers and Manufacturers Association head Alasdair Thompson’s sexist outbursts have drawn near universal condemnation, and are likely to cost him his job.  But while we’re about the business of punishing sexist dinosaurs, we should set our sights a little higher than Thompson.

Dunedin public meeting tomorrow

Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, June 21st, 2011 - 63 comments

hillside-thumb

Up to forty jobs are at risk at Dunedin’s Hillside Railway Workshops, because the government would rather send money to China than invest in Kiwi jobs and industry.  It’s crazy.  Come along to the public meeting tomorrow Wednesday at 7pm.

CTU research on minimum wage

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, May 25th, 2011 - 24 comments

Helen Kelly

The response to two recent posts here at The Standard have shown what a contentious topic the minimum wage is.  So it’s timely that yesterday saw the release of the CTU’s summary of research on Minimum Wage and Jobs.

How’s this for employment conditions?

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, May 24th, 2011 - 33 comments

flea collar pink

Here’s a stunning headline from the Herald on the glamour of working at SkyCity casino:

Flea collars for SkyCity staff

Perhaps next they could introduce compulsory de-lousing baths at the end of each shift?

The lazy unemployed

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 23rd, 2011 - 21 comments

Unemployed Youth (2)

John Key reckons the unemployed need “a kick in the pants”.  Paula Bennett reckons the Nats’ harsh reforms mean that “the dream is over” for beneficiaries.  Meanwhile, back in the real world…

Sick April Fool’s Joke

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, April 1st, 2011 - 71 comments

fairness at work thumb

Today National has a terrible April Fools for workers around Aotearoa: 90 day fire-at-will, reduced union access, sick notes after 1 day and minimum wage up a pittance. Workers are doing it tough already, and now National’s turning the screw.

Welfare reforms will drive wages down

Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, February 27th, 2011 - 26 comments

greetings from the welfare state

The coming welfare reform is less a welfare policy and more another industrial relations policy in drag.

That’s because it won’t just be beneficiaries that suffer under this new regime but the majority of Kiwi workers too.

Protest @ WINZ today!

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, February 22nd, 2011 - 88 comments

sue-bradford

Aucklanders – the fight back against the worst recommendations in the Rebstock report starts now. Join us – Auckland Against Poverty – in a picket, 2pm today outside Work & Income, Sel Peacock Dr, Henderson.

English lashes out

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, February 10th, 2011 - 66 comments

public service whipping dog

By every significant measure our economy is a mess.  Bill English is finance minister for what is looking increasingly like the most useless do-nothing NZ government in living memory.  So is he working on a plan to put things right?  Is he rolling out the big ideas that will get New Zealand moving again?  No – he’s lashing out at public servants.  Pathetic.

Bloody Klowns

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, February 5th, 2011 - 79 comments

Burger king

Ever been in a job where you thought you were underpayed and overworked? Ever voiced those feelings to your workmates? Either on the job, or during ‘smoko’, over the telephone or through some other electronic medium?

A Burger King employee in Dunedin has. And now, astonishingly,  faces the possibility of being fired for serious misconduct.

Is the 90 day trial “working”?

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, February 4th, 2011 - 64 comments

dunce

The NZIER recently popped up with a study  purporting to show that the “90-day trial period” (the fire at will bill) is “working”.  The study and its conclusions have since been widely quoted.  Unfortunately the conclusions are a load of nonsense.  NZIER have committed the amateur hour mistake of seeing the cause that they want to see.

Unemployment Up

Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, February 3rd, 2011 - 20 comments

Unemployed Youth (2)

The December quarter employment statistics are out.  And there’s a big jump up to 6.8% unemployment.  11,000 people lost their jobs, 8,000 became “unemployed” and 3,000 others left the workforce altogether.  The labour force participation rate (the number of people of working age, working) is down to 67.9%.

No Jobs is Government’s Fault, Not Recession’s

Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, January 17th, 2011 - 24 comments

unemployment

The “Great Recession” saw a greater spike in unemployment in New Zealand compared to its drop in GDP than almost everywhere. Whilst GDP slumped, unemployment did less so in all but 2 countries across the world: NZ and Spain.  The Government, far from being relentlessly focussed on jobs, has ensured with its policies that workers were laid off in swathes.

Important links

Comments

Online

Localist

Public service advertisements by The Standard

Current CO2 level in the atmosphere