Written By: - Date published: 3:18 pm, February 20th, 2008 - 57 comments
Categories: john key, workers' rights -
Tags: john key, workers' rights
Key’s comment that “we would love to see wages drop” to a group of business-people last year has come under increasing scrutiny in the House today.
Rather than defend his statement himself, Key sat squirming as English attempted to deflect Cullen’s attack – hardly a good look for the leader of the opposition, getting someone else to fight your battles for you.
Cullen pointed out that during the 90s under the Nats average real earnings fell in five out of nine years and that average weekly earnings went from $463 when the Nats came into office to a mere one dollar more, $464 (1990 dollars) when they left. “That’s National’s record on earnings growth”, he said.
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I notice Mr. Key did not deny the quote. I guess that puts paid to the “misquoted” defense (otherwise known as the straws.clutch.at defense.) I don’t think I’ll be voting National this year after all…
Love that final Cullen line.
“the difference is, in 1990 National promised they wouldn’t cut wages and did, this time they are promising they weill cut them”
No denial from National that Key was correctly quoted.
John Key was not misquoted, but he has certainly been quoted out of context!
Bart. Elaborate. How is “we would love wages to drop” ever going to mean anything other than “we would love wages to drop”. Please tell me, because I’m dying to know.
What Bart seems to be saying is that we have to interpret everything that comes out John Keys mouth. That is, you can take nothing that John Key says at face value. You have to guess at what he is saying.
John Key was not misquoted, but he has certainly been quoted out of context!
I didn’t hear him say that either. In fact he sat there looking pretty guilty and relied on Angry Bill to run misdirection for him.
Awfully quiet from the righties all of a sudden. Looks like Key’s put his foot in it.
Its a shame the news will be dominated by the growing honors for cash story. Now Winstons involved the fun will really begin…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/blog/story.cfm?c_id=1501219&objectid=10493529
Yawn. Audrey Young used to be a decent journalist but got lost somewhere around the time she started shamelessly hawking her publisher’s line during the EFA debate. She’s got nothing there, just the usual smears and innuendo from the National Party linebook.
Anyway Mike, what do you think about John Key’s revelation he wants to cut your wages?
It is stunning how weakly English tries to turn the subject in his sup question. He’s not even trying, which is bad news for Key. Maybe this is the slip that English has been praying for, his chance to dispose the cheeky upstart and resume his rightful place.
mike. what’s the story?. Even if Glenn were NZF’s donor, so what? National has a dozen donors who secretly gave $2 million in 2005 alone and doubtless gave much more last year beofre the EFA kicked in.
So how much of a wage cut do you want National to give you, mike?
I thought English was ‘Bitter Bill’, not ‘Angry Bill”.
Mike doesn’t mind having his wages cut – he believes in hard work and making sure you pay for things when you don’t have to like child care. What I wonder about is how he will feel when he’s the one who has to tell his reports (you are some kind of middle manager aren’t you Mike?) that they are going to have a pay cut.
You strike me as a decent if misguided kind of a bloke Mike (despite me teasing you) – what are you going to do when your boss tell you to cut your team’s rates and conditions. I’m sure some of them have kids too.
Tane – even if JK wanted to (I believe he more concerned about productivity in that story) he could not cut my wages without raising taxs – unlikely don’t you think?
The only people reducing my wages are Labour due to bracket creep. Yes I’m a rich prick earning over 60K…
So this is the strength of the mighty Labour Party that is the darling of the New Zealand people – plainly taking the National Party Leader comments out of context to gains points.
What a joke.
he could not cut my wages without raising taxs
That’s a non-sequitur Mike.
EWS- I see no denial from Key. I see a man who can’t even front up and take personal responsibility for his statements. It’s pretty hard to take “We would love to see wages drop” out of context.
“what are you going to do when your boss tells you to cut your team’s rates and conditions.”
I’ll demand an increase in my STI’s for a start.
You take the cake, Tane. So Audrey Young is hawking her publishers’ line, yet you and IrishBill, employed by the EPMU, are expressing a freely held opinion, as are the other authors employed in the ninth floor of the Beehive.
Right.
mike – he could easily say he was going to ease immigration “constraints” and remove legal workplace protections, such as the right to unfair dismissal, ban unions from entering workplaces and what do you know your wages will fall. Just as they did in the 1990′s – some workers will see it happen quickly as they are forced to sign another contract at a lesser rate or get sacked, some will just see their wage stagnate while prices rise.
If you work for a profit-focused company in a competitive market with tight returns such as manufacturing or aged care or pretty much any form of sales then your employer is going to use these new powers to do just that. They’re going to have to because its’s a sure bet one of their competitor will. It’s a valid short-term market response to try to undercut the competition because if you don’t they will and then you go under but it’s has really crappy social results.
So once again Mike – you talk like a middle manager – do you have people under you and how will you feel if you have to tell them their wages are coming down?
EWS – I’m employed by Owen Glenn, I can’t believe you weren’t aware. I’m actually writing this from a yacht surrounded by tall beautiful blonde women who are distantly related to Monaco’s royal family. Do try to keep up.
Bart: “John Key was not misquoted, but he has certainly been quoted out of context!”
Maybe the wind was blowing the wrong way too?
I’ll vote for a wage cut to go with my tax cut, thats what I need thanks John.
when was the last time Key opened his mouth and didn’t expose himself for the newbie fool that he is?
Key consistently stuffs it up, his only good trick is keeping quiet (well, and letting others clean up his messes in the House). his caucus know that ain’t going to cut it in an election.
English will just love having to take a mauling from Cullen just to wipe up his incompetent boss’s crap. no wonder his defence in the House wass so half-hearted – i wonder how long it’ll be before the knives come out for Key?
sod – having seen both sides (I was a union rep when I was young and naive) I can honestly say that unions do nothing for keeping peoples wages up anymore. In fact the opposite occurs now as I am able to negotiate higher wages for staff on on dividual contracts but not unionised staff (who are becoming a rarity) they miss out.
Unions are only a benifit to poor workers and troublemakers these days.
Mike. Bracket creep does not reduce your take home wage, even accoutning for inflation. Use excel, check it out.
EWS. How are Key’s words tkaen out of context?
He says: “we would love for wages to drop”
we put the only logical interpretation on those words: “Key and National would love wages to drop”
When those words are attacked in the House, Key does not deny that the plain and clear meaning of the words was what he intended to say.
“poor workers and troublemakers”
bloody poor people – put them all on an island!
oh right… they already are… “coming through your windows” as Shipley said.
I hate to say it, but I’m inclined to think of it as a bollocks-up- either a misquote or typo, only because Key is not stupid enough to have actually said those words, surely? (don’t call me shirley).
That said, if he has been misquoted or whatever, he should say that and put it to bed, rather than look like an idiot in the House. Seems to me he genuinely can’t remember what he said, but the quote sounds like something he would have said. That is way worse.
he hasn’t denied it, and had enough fore-warning of what was coming.
but let’s be naively generous and assume he just cocked-up…
I want lower wages for NZ…
Under a Labour Government that I lead…
add those kind of mega-gaffes to his stirling history of one flip-flop after another, mirroring Labour policy, needing English, Brownlee and McCully to speak for him in the House because he can’t do it himself without getting plastered… and what do you have?
Not a leader. An wealthy amateur who got bored with his toys and now wants to play somewhere he’s just not up to the job.
Yes Sprout. But when you say that to young people these days they don’t know what you’re talking about.
(young people like Duncan and Guyon at least)
but let’s be naively generous and assume he just cocked-up
Ahh sprout, you generous soul, you’re always trying to see the best in people! But I’m afraid that the clock has run out on the cock-up theory…
“young people like Duncan and Guyon at least”
nice one Pablo
“clock has run out on the cock-up theory”
yeah. that was a Coldplay song wasn’t it?
I have heard a summary of Mr Key’s prospects by a visiting American businessman: “an incredibly substantial lightweight.”
He was closer to the truth than I dared hope. His lopsided “Oh, gee, thanks Bill!” grin in today’s proceedings is an indication he is out of his depth.
And out of curiosity, where’s Gerry lately? He would normally have been the lieutenant to take the flack??
i think Gerry’s cashing in his chips
Amazing how much traction this comment is getting in the MSM….
no wait….some dude called Owen Glenn is getting all the press.
Why is that????