Written By: - Date published: 6:56 pm, July 15th, 2010 - 244 comments
Categories: class war, wages, workers' rights -
Tags: john key
Not content with letting rising unemployment and spending cuts undermine the wages of working New Zealanders, National is planning a new major attack on their work rights.
According to One News, Key’s government is planning to extend the 90 day no-rights legislation to all New Zealanders and deny them the right to access their representatives in the workplace.
And the rumour is there’s more to come including a move to limit workers’ right to justice by reducing their (already limited) rights to take personal grievances.
This will mean that anyone starting a new job will have no rights for three months. That’s three months in which they’ll be able to be fired for anything without the need for an employer to give a reason.
Think about that.
If you start a new job and your employer decides they don’t like your religion, your desire to join a union, who you’re friends with, the fact you won’t work unpaid overtime or anything else they feel like they can sack you.
And there’s nothing you’ll be able to do about it.
Take, for example, Amy Jewitt who was working for overland shoes in Te Pahu who was told she had to wear expensive shoes from the store she worked in but refused because it would have taken the bulk of her part-time pay.
What happened when she refused?
The Manager told Ms Jewitt that she is on a three month probation period and by not wearing the shoes she was not committed to the job.
But it’s not just new workers who will feel this because workers with no rights have no bargaining power and that means the extension of this no-rights law will see even more downward pressure on all wages.
The attack on worker representation will do the same because wages in New Zealand are pulled up by union members.
As I wrote just yesterday, there’s been a lot of pressure on Key to let the dogs off the leash – and with the election just 12 months away and big donations flagging I’m picking this big gift to business is about loosening the purse strings.
And it’s every working Kiwi that will pay the price.
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Its carefully thought out (over decades) social engineering of the worst kind. Most men and women find a sense of self worth in employment. They find dignity and respect from their family and peers if they are employed. For people this is the process …
Step One
I am born and then raised and educated – i absorb the social mores of whatever socio economic group i am born into
Step Two
I come out of the education system – again – having been the product of whatever socio economic group i was born into and the advantages and disadvantages of that group
Step Three
I face either opportunity – or lack of opportunity
I face either positive avenues of life expression – or negative avenues of life expression
The outcome of these steps – depends on the Governmental system that assists people to live along the way.
The outcome of the type of NACT thinking we now see and saw in the business roundtable type elitism of years ago …. is that the ‘working class’ become a huge workforce pool for the Merchant class and the Aristocracy and Ruling Elite. What isnt understood by these social engineers – is that this vast labour pool kept at heel and in need – is composed of real people who feel and breathe and have a need to live life with some hope for the future.
Or do we now live in the movie the “matrix” … all “tubed in” to feed the machines with our lifeblood and meantime be kept in a perpetual dreamstate by lying politicos and PC filth designed to keep us silent.
Or are we heading toward being the next low waged pool of workers for the new Asia that we must service, under the Hegemony of China – complete with MPs (some even in the labour party) who are “planted” chinese nationalists possibly on the payroll of Beijing.
But then – i may well be wrong.
Welcome to NZ where every worker is compelled to donate to the National Party.
The Nats have had no donations from big business (follow the links in the post)
The Nats will now get their reward for finally doing what the ideologues in charge of big business wanted.
Which was to destroy the capacity of workers to negotiate higher wages. Which means that a proportion of the pay increase you and I will not get goes straight into National Party coffers.
Think about that the next time Johnny Boy is smiling and waving at you on the box. He’s smiling because he has your money. Literally.
And his wave may well be a ‘cheers’ of acknowledgement at the meek acceptance of his theft and the general resignation of the population to ever declining standards of living.
Every union employee donates to Labour, whether they want too or not. I bet the reason Union Fees are going up are so they can support the supposed workers party more as they are broke.
At least Nat Party donations are on a volunter basis.
True, some unions donate to the Labour Party. Not all. And I believe workers should have the right to direct any ‘levy for donation’ to wherever they wish.
But this is different. This is deliberate and cynical legislation that effectively sees a direct contribution from the vast majority of the work force to Nat coffers.
Nothing voluntary about it. We have absolutely no choice on the matter. None.
And we are talking massive sums of money. What’s a 1 or 2% denial of wage increases across a large and expanding percentage of the workforce worth to business? And what will the knock on effects be for other workers and their wage claims? And how much will we be paying the National Party for the favour they just extended to big business?
Bollocks, Nilats. You’ve got it backwards, much like your name. There are some unions that are affiliated to the Labour Party, but it’s a minority. The EPMU, the most well known example, asks its members to indicate whether they want a portion of their fee to go to Labour and the union’s contribution is made on the basis of the percentage of members that want it done. Couldn’t get more democratic and less compulsory than that, eh?
And who says union fees are going up? What union are you a member of, Nilats? If you don’t like the fee going up, ring the unions freephone number or email and register your protest. Or, just quit. It’s voluntary membership, remember, so you have the power to make your opinion heard, one way or the other.
And before someone else ventures it … yes… some people rise to the top despite the circumstances they are born or raised into. They are the cream and more power to them.
The unfortunate truth … is we cant all be winners – we cant all be the ones who triumph over adversity. The beauty of humanity – is its diversity and the fact that we are our brothers keeper and we do need each other.
I think that our future as a nation depends on how we look after our whole populace … trickledown theory is akin as quoted by one commentator in the doco “the last resort” “to being pissed on through a blanket…”
Tell that to the Zimbabwean’s who thought they would benefit with a policy of redistribution as advocated by Zanu-PF. They would love “to being pissed on through a blanket ‘ as it would make their miserable existence a little more bearable
Gosman – they are being pissed on through a blanket most probably. Mugabe is an ex schoolteacher turned dictator. Evil does what evil does.
Key is a merchant banker turned bloated social engineer in the vein of the Rothschilds meddling in international finance. The outcomes are roughly the same. You see … he is so wealthy and succussful that he simply cannot understand why others arent to the same level ….”let them eat cake”
Yawn.
Your ‘Eat the rich’ envy obsession is a little tiring.
I find it fascinating how much venom is directed against John Key.
I presume it is because he is an example of someone who didn’t get rich from inheritence and therefore blows the common view of lefties that the Rich stay rich and get richer, whereas the poor get poorer at their expense.
I have a feeling you would have preferred he stay down with the rest of the working class.
NZ politics is fucked !
160 comments and next to no data on which to base opinion, lets all get our red and blue flags parade about and shout at each other huzzah.
Bring on global warming to drown us all glug glug glug.
Follow the links in the post if you want data.
The Nats were being starved of corporate donations to make them play ball. Now we all get to pay into the Nat coffers through our ‘donation’ to corporate profit margins brought about by National’s decimation of the legislation that enabled us to negotiate wages and conditions of employment.
Yep, and the NACT’s are basing their next policy change on the 90 days on what?
Anecdotal evidence, where employers are hardly likely to say that they screwed over employees? The lack of grievances from employees where the ability to lodge a grievance was specifically removed? Nope…
Ideologically based political correctness gone mad perhaps?
So both the policy itself and the opposition is based on idealogy.
The National party is a party of the idealogical right. It will therefore support policies promoting economic freedom for private businesses and individuals. This policy fits that bill quite nicely.
Next time there is an election you and your leftist mates can try and get enough votes together to get a party of the idealogical left into government and they can start implementing policies that will restrict economic freedom for private businesses and individuals.
What is the problem here again?
The problem is that Johnny Boy and his mates didn’t want to do this.
The problem is that Big Business demanded that this be done before they’d reinstate their National Party donations.
National are now shitting their pants over the potential backlash and are spinning with their fingers (and everything else) crossed.
That’s the principle problem right there. And then there is the potential cascade effect for the Nats.
Interesting you should say that. The Herald’s notoriously right-wing “your views” is running pro-union at about a 9 to 1 ratio. This is not a policy that people are happy with.
Depends on whether people are upset about the restrictions on Union access to workplace (dumb policy if you ask me) or the 90 Day trial period or both.
I don’t think many people should have a problem with the trial period but they could get rightly annoyed a bit at the restriction on access.
Probably because they don’t want us to become a nation of Chinese- sweat shops
National and ACT screamed blue murder when Maori were denied access to the courts over the seabed and foreshore. Now National plans to deny the same right to thousands of workers.
ACT will, of course, oppose this policy.
Comedy – fair comment – but that is the very point. We arent dealing with a situation that can be based on data – and one cant trust data which has been massaged accordingly anyway.
Its about people – the recession isnt over – the world economy is still fragile – if politics is ‘fcuked’ as you put it … good – thats at least a start.
It would pay pollies to not dismiss the various revolutions in the 19th and 20th centuries as antique anachronisms with no relevance to this timeline. There are a lot of average people out there who have had a gutsful of being lied to by all sides of the debate … sidelined into support of ethnic minorities and any other minority that can capture a jaded pollies vote-seeking radar. We’ve all had enough of stupid things being done by highly paid people. I dont care who they are – chris carter swanning around the world at our expense, bill english supplementing his bloated income at our expense, shane jones flogging his log at our expense and on our time, Phil heatley having a great time with wine on our taxpayer tab …. kiwis can forgive them all … because we know we’re all only human … but for Gods sake …. when when when when are Government policies going to be about what is best for the citizens of this country.
How much time and money is wasted due to the petty stupid politics of all sides of the house. Make a pledge all of you – keep your fat salaries … stay in $100 a night motels or hotels and pay your own way for your wine, private travel and getting nookie while travelling.
How in gods good name can some of them face their electorates next year without blushing?
Its disgusting and its shameful.
No data Comedy – go back to your bloated NACT government and ask them to produce reliable data and fucking well communicate with their Voters and also for a change, consult with the public of NZ
We all live in the same country – to fucking hell with left, right and fucking centre.
What about us – the people who live in this country.
Fuck all of the political bullshit
Viva la revolution Comrades!
Can’t wait to see the baracades being errected then.
LOL!
And i should have added to the list of MPs wasting time and money … Raymond Huo – an unelected Labour MP – who cruised in due to some idiots placement of him on the “list” (hands up who the moron was who did that) to satisfy an ethnicity quota system … who comes out with stridently Anti Tibet lies and Chinese Govt propaganda – and Pro Chinese Nationalism based sentiments on the Red Alert Labour Party blog.
This is New Zealand. New Zealanders need their pollies to work for the betterment of New Zealanders.
Phil Goff had the cojones to shut him down – and to deal to his own party recalcitrants .. what have you done John Key – his answer “oh well – ive enacted measures to make certain that the working class remain subservient to our rightwing agenda…”
Thanks Mr key – now back to you Connie … this is MJS – Standard News on Skype …
Now the weather
Jim Anderton has Sheriff John Keys measure pretty sussed ..”I remember he helped people make a pot of money speculating against the New Zealand dollar in the 1980s, at a cost to New Zealand of $700 million” http://www.progressive.org.nz/latestnews/files/d49e3ee4f15511d176f0d1745b90fbed-148.html
This National Government isnt for New Zealands future,its about fleecing the country, and then they will move on elsewhere and leave us with the mess.
And for those here trying to blame the recession “The National government can’t blame the recession. Because at the same time, Australia’s unemployment has dropped to just over 5%.
How many jobs has John Key’s cycle way created so far? None!
What about the nine day fortnight? It was meant to save thousands of jobs – but didn’t.”
In my opinion this 90 day no-rights legislation extention is set up to be used and abused as a type of way to subsidize business .We will very likely see many new employees supposedly not meeting the grade of the employers,these employees will simply be given the quick flick.Creating huge social issues and ending in many more people in jails.
While employers will simply take on more and more new employees, time and time again enjoying all the subsidised wage benefits that come with offering jobs to people on benefits.
Its all one big rort this National Government.They have even offered candy coated carrots to the Maori to lull their people into thinking maybe they are really getting a great deal.
Once the rich have cleaned up and the countrys worse off than it ever was.Many folks like Key will simply shoot the gap, and move on elsewhere until the heat cools a little.
I cannot believe how stupidly blind many kiwis have become .Take a good look at Key and co , kiwis.When you look them in the eye do you see a look of some honesty , or do you see something looking kinda shifty
Folks better wake up to it before the next elections arrive.And be a little wary of the offerings of candy coated carrots
Why would an employer sack an employee who had demonstrated his or her ability to perform the job? He’d then have to spend a whole lot of unproductive time finding a new employee. What’s in it for the employer?
That’s right – people of a different idealogical persuassion from you are not ‘real’ New Zealanders are they. They are only out to stuff the country up by screwing over the workers and the environment and then they will skip out on the mess they created as they laugh maniacally from their private jet smoking cuban cigars and fondling their wads of cash.
Do you guy’s actually believe this cartoon version of reality or just regurgitate it for effect?
Do you think you have a chance convincing most average New Zealanders when you have such a childish view on the world?
Some advice Gosman – go and sit in a pub on a saturday night or preferably mid week when average folk are out on the town. Listen to the conversations and take it all in.
You might well be very surprised at the tenor of conversations – and how average kiwis really feel about your favoured government.
Are you a Kiwi – or an import…just aksing you ….
Rubbish, the average Kiwi is highly unlikely to see the world in such blinkered fashion as many of you hard core lefties. You just have to take a look at the recent polls to see that – oh that’s right it is all a beat up by the MSM in cohoots with the New World Order and the Reptilian overlords.
Eventually people will tire of the National led government and it is likely the Labour Party will get back in. However it won’t be because everybody starts believing the general socialist fairytale nonsense spouted by people like you.
Key is a paper money man – a generator of nothing … but he has made millions from it…. he is like a war profiteer. What has he ever done for a real business producing real things.
Dead eyes – dead soul.
How can you identify with the great unwashed when you are so far removed. After all he doesnt trust his own education system enough to send his kids to state schools.
Must tell you something. I do hope Labour MPs with kids can say the opposite. If they cant – then think again boys and girls.
Some of us had / have no choice.
The level of social unrest and inequity that is coming to this nation will be immense … and the right wing will simply laugh it off.
Till it comes knocking on their door. And it will.
The left’s general disdain for capital, as evidenced by that last comment, is one of the reasons they will never be anything more than wreakers.
What you lefties dont get because you dont live in the real world
Is that as a employer i hate job interviews
I hate going though the hassal of traing new staff
It takes time for people to get up to speed and be conferdent to talk to you.
Bost most of all i hate ringing up people and telling them they didnt get the job.
We empoyers are people first
Maybe when you open your eyes to that you can let go of your enevy
Graham, as an employer myself I agree with all the line items you state. Cant see how this is left / right, sounds more like standard human nature and common sense. Thats not the real issue here, what is under debate is the good old give a man an inch and he will take a mile scenario. In this case its give us (the employers) the ability to screw them (the employees) over, especially if we can get a pecuiary advantage or some other leverage and voila…we will be real humans and take advantage..
So do you have evidence that employers in the UK are taking advantage of a similar ability to the 90 Day trial period then?
Following your logic, because some Unions have been known to exploit their own positions unduly we shouldn’t tighten labour regulations as someone might strike for a silly reason.
Hi, Graham. I fully sympathise with your hateful situation, it must be hellishly hard getting the right people in a time of mass unemployment. BTW, am I right in assuming from your spelling and comprehension difficulties that you are the CEO of a major NZ newspaper group?
Once more with the ad hominem attacks. Nice to see the level of debate here doesn’t change :rolleyes:
And you either cant spell – or you are dyslexic – or you lack keyboard skills.
I hope I can be conferdent one day Graham.
How long do your employees usually last with such a captain of industry as thou?
Last time i pinched myself i lived in the current material world?
This has given me real confidence in the future …
Nice ad hominem attack there. You do realise this is an Internet blog forum not an English language exam?
Although perhaps you could get a job as a spell checker.
Hmmm. I had a crack as well, before spotting your comment, Gosman. I normally don’t comment on spelling in the comments, as I know full well that not everybody has a perfect grasp of English and that shouldn’t be a reason to take the piss. Ball, not the man, etc.
But Graham’s illiteracy goes to the heart of this argument. Why should incompetent or poorly trained employers be given a free pass when they get it wrong? Why should the total burden of risk be only on the employee? Graham may well be a fantastic guy to work for, but if he can’t read and write, should he be the one making the employment decisions? And why should his employees pay the price for his mistakes?
The reason why i make the decision on who works on farm is that the bank manager lent me 10 million dollars.
Just as well that he isnt some snob that cant see past my spelling
funny how your spelling suddenly improved.
Are you a chinese plant ….
If i make a mistake i have to pay
Cheers, graham, and apologies if you felt hurt by the reference to your writing skills. The Standard seems to me to be the kind of place where the idea is the important thing, not the way it’s written. However, it’s worth noting, that under this proposal, you could be fired for it, whether or not it has anything to do with the job you do.
And under this proposal, “If i make a mistake i have to pay”, does not count. Does that sound fair?
i may only be a small business but my turnover exceeds 3.5 million
Nobody asked you the size of your business … i think you are simply pulling a bit of the old “rural” tit … what …. aret those cows just not doing your mojo any good any more …. try the wife for a change bud
Gossy old salt – well said and i applaud the wit.
It was funny though – i thought.
Pleased you were watching … i felt the curtains twitching. Computers and software have rendered my special skills redundant.
Et in arcadia ego
” OleOlebiscuitBarrell 43.1
16 July 2010 at 12:10 pm
Why would an employer sack an employee who had demonstrated his or her ability to perform the job? He’d then have to spend a whole lot of unproductive time finding a new employee. What’s in it for the employer?”
Oh come on Olebiscuit.Quit kidding us its so very hard to learn how to man a shovel or push a broom ,or clean the toilet and bathroom etc..These type of workers can be retrained with great ease
Who are you trying to fool ?.
You think these type of workers are not going to feel pressure to all preform like slaves under a regime where your neck is always on the line if you dont work like a dog .And you even have no union for support,and any public exposure! will only suffice to finish any future possibility you had of obtaining another job elsewhere.Public exposure of problems will cause other employers not to even employ you for a trial.Its a matter of common sense.
This will help turn many Kiwi`s into slave labour, like the sweat shops we were once only used to seeing in places like China or India.
Whats in it for the employer you ask …..So you dont think many ruthless employer wouldnt want their broom pushers and toilet cleaners etc, almost permenantly subsidized by WINZ job start incentives ?.
Come on … Sure National Government and John Key and co, have managed to pull the wool over many people eyes in New Zealand …..But that dont mean all us Kiwi`s are all totally stupid
There sure is plenty in it for the employer!.
” graham 45
16 July 2010 at 12:11 pm
What you lefties dont get because you dont live in the real world
Is that as a employer i hate job interviews
I hate going though the hassal of traing new staff
It takes time for people to get up to speed and be conferdent to talk to you.
Bost most of all i hate ringing up people and telling them they didnt get the job.
We empoyers are people first
Maybe when you open your eyes to that you can let go of your enevy”
Save your bullshit sermon for coverting stupid sinners at some church graham .We know its all about you lot wanting to fleece the poor of those few coins,you would like to see filling the coffers.
How long does it HONESTLY take for a broom pusher or toilet cleaner to get up to speed ? .
Specially when they come pre-trained by WINZ.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1007/S00247.htm
It really does seem like our government is becoming unstable. The way things are going nothing any one government passes will last longer than that government.
What’s the matter with Goff?
Honestly. To claim that fire at will effect CEO’s? wtf? And then just mono-syllabic droning on the patently obvious…Oh, fuck.
I thought it might have been a slightly off the boil interview. But no. It’s a press release.
It’s enough to drive you to religion
Yes, I have thought that myself. This is the latest in a string of tit-for-tat policy reforms.
Exactly DTB, thats why strong unions, and a fiesty political opposition are needed to carry on regardless when the dirty filthy tories hold office.
graham ->”We empoyers are people first
Maybe when you open your eyes to that you can let go of your enevy”
Oh sure grayham .Employers are people first employers.
That why so many are keen to see no unions and few rights for employees and the bosses ability to get rid of workers within 90 days as they choose.
Great way to prove how “people first” you are.
According to your idea of the rules of “people first” country, maybe China and India can claim being “people first” also
Its got little to do with envy grayham.And everything to do with a little humanity .Most broom pushers and toilet cleaner type dont really have a whole lot of envy left in them .They are simply far to busy trying to just survive and pay their rent and feed their kids.
Your idea of “people first” want to put many of these types of folks into the situation of being vulnerable of abuse from ruthless employees who really dont care about anything more than profit margins and getting rich.
You might honestly very well be a “people first” employer graham ,which is great.
But where will you be when plenty of other employers are not so “people first” and start abusing this idiotic idea of Key and the National Government ? .
When somebody happens to be working for a ruthless employer who just dont care ….Will you be around to help bear the pain of his/her dismissal ?.
Will you be there to make sure this employee doesnt revert to crime to try and make ends meet ?. Will you be prepared to pay all the extra costs involved in building new jails and containing the extra criminals ?.
Im picking no, maybe not !…..Quite likely you will quickly scurry off to Fiji for a holiday ,and become a “people last” person while you shuffle your books and diddle the tax ….And leave most of the extra costs to other Kiwis
I detest unions.
Essential in the 19th century.
Tolerated in the 20th century.
Outdated, militant encumbrances in the 21st century.
I detest business “leaders”.
Slave traders in the 18th century.
Robber barons in the 19th century.
Partners of the fascist parties in the 20th century.
Avaricious scum in the 21st century.
Yes, the same “business “leaders’ thay pay your salary.
out of the profits my work gives them
Funny, has treating your workers like expendable commodities you can fire at will suddenly stopped happening in the 21st century?
No?
Seems to me like its just starting.
Hence the relevance and power of unions begins anew today, thanks to National.
For the 2008 polls, I voted for vision for a new New Zealand.
But, since, the Government has been about revisionism and revision.
And now. division.
No they don’t you donkey, and before you ask no I don’t claim any benefits.
By the way the unions you detest do the work that raises the revenue that the lazy idlers at the top misappropriate into their bonuses and extortionate salaries. As I said avaricious scum.
Are you into class warfare too?
I hardly think that having a distaste for the excessive renumeration of certain CEO’s counts as class war, more like commonsense. People like Phil O’Lazy and his acolytes deserve contempt for their extremist views whereby they believe the majority should work for peanuts to make them richer – if you think this is supporting class war then I guess I’d be guilty of it in the court of Santi.
A class war is already being waged Santi, from the top downwards, and ordinary workers and the under priviledged are being told that its OK to stomach one body blow after another, that’s your lot in life.
Actually, to be more precise, the workers do the work. Whether or not they belong to a Union is immaterial to the equation you have postulated.
Some on the right argue that membership of a union reduces the amount of work that the workers manage to achieve. I’m not that uncharitable myself.
Fair point vis a vis workers doing the work.
Some on the left argue that getting large bonuses is quite often an indication of a job poorly done -Reynolds, Fyfe, Gattung.
yes my spelling is crap
yes i employe 5 staff
yes i am a dairy farmer
I start work before they do i finish after them
i dont make them work public holidays
I may not have gone to uni but i pay tax and arent poor thak you very much
Enevy is alive around here
no one envies you mate ,… in fact many may well pity you.
No one knew you were a dairy farmer and few could care less.
But your response gives an interesting sideline to this issue …
Sharemilker or farm owner … which are you …
As to unions if a worker wants to join one thats his problem
but because i am responibale under osh for all workplace saftey
i need to control who comes on my farm
if i believe it is unsafe and a nuisance that is my right
I think you are just a logflogging old rural funnyboy who gets his rocks off coming on here.
The aristocracy of the farmer is about to end. Stretch your eyes and learn to speak mandarin buddy boy and get ready to sign over your heritage to beijing.
That tight feeling in your keester is you being fucked up the ass …
just in case you didnt know …
Thats good and ok Graham – farming still is the backbone of the country. But it needs to be understood that there are huge numbers of other people out there – living in urban areas – who have every reason to be concerned. I dont think Farming is unionised and doesnt need to be. Farmers are generally good employers and the spans of control are short and personal … you know your workers well and they know you well. The rural approach is one that exemplifies what NZ used to be and isnt any longer.
Apologies for unfairly criticising your spelling – the emotions sometimes run high on these sort of places i have discovered to my own cost.
Unions have a good role to play – and they are now needed more than ever before.
How many jobs will these measures create?
The Nacts dare not quantify this question.
Why?
Not only is any resulting measurable employment increase improbable, but that is not the reason these measures are being brought in.
These measures are not being requested by the majority, but are being brought in on the request of the elites and big business following intensive well funded lobbying of the government by this greedy and rich minority.
Whenever this greedy minority wish to make profits from building a polluting power plant, or milling a native forest, or mining reserve land, or drilling for oil in water over 1km deep, out of self interest they always mention how many jobs this will create. This is done to mollify the public and smother any concerns. Though such projects are created to make profits for wealthy investors, this is never mentioned as a justification. The creation of jobs is almost a side effect of the quest for profits. However such projects actually do create jobs, and people need jobs, and these jobs can be quantified and can be used to win over objectors.
But here is a case where something being proposed will increase profits and as a cover the excuse “it will create jobs” is being wheeled out, but none of the supporters of these measures dare to specify or even guess at the numbers, for fear of being proved to be idiots and/or liars.
Though there is big talk, (but no figures), about the jobs that will be created, selectively and dishonestly, the fact that these measures will increase profits is never mentioned.
The Maori Party aren’t happy with the extension of the 90 Day trial period to bigger businesses. They say the existing 90 Day trial period has not resulted in any noticeable improvement in Maori youth employment:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1007/S00254.htm
Another ‘factless’ article from an employers’ group praising the proposed extension of the 90 day probation law.
This time from the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, who declare their full support for the legislation. but neglect to include any figures, or facts, or even an anecdote to back up their slobbering support for this legislation.
Employers praise probation scheme
132 employers surveyed. 20% of workers hired, fired within 90 days. Some for not displaying the correct attitude.
http://www.thestandard.org.nz/keys-dilemma/#comment-233702
Johnny Boy is quite correct in saying that this licence to abuse will not be abused.
The saddest thing for me as a father is that my children have employment conditions that are worse than I had when I started work.
They have less choice and are screwed over more.
Both my boys have worked for small and large employers. They are not averse to menial work and have done such work as cleaning toilets, worked for courier companies, hardware stores and so on.
The salary bullshit pulled on them so they get paid monthly with no extra pay for extra hours worked or even extra days in the month, the abuse from their managers like the woman at McDonalds who used to go and crap in the toilet without flushing and make him clean it again, the loss of employment so they could employ the nephew instead, the offer of a months trial on no pay from one prick, and so on. I can list lots of examples from both small employers and large.
My boys left school with a very good work ethic and feel constantly shafted by employers despite working hard for them. It pisses them off when they see their employers in Chamber Of Commerce magazines and newspapers being touted as good businesses when they were only interested in making money at the lowest possible cost.
The industrial employers here have long had a blacklist of people they won’t employ. Their crime – taking out a PG – most often winning against this type of crap employer. Never mind the employer was wrong.
This is what happens when these kids stand up to these employers.
In the McDonalds example I wanted to go and rip shit out of the employer – but I respected my sons wishes not to. He used to get up at 4:00 am and bike to that job in the middle of winter.
Yeah there are plenty of good employers out there but I can find plenty of shithouse ones as well.
I still don’t get how anyone thinks that this type of change will have more young people employed – either you have the work to do or you don’t. All the people I know who have lost their jobs in this recession did so cause the employer had no bloody work. Until there is work there won’t be any jobs.
The freezing workers who have no stock to kill won’t be at work til there is stock, the builders who laid off their staff did so cause they had no building jobs, the manufacturers who laid off their staff did so cause they had no orders, the retail shops who laid off their staff did so cause they had no customers, the exporters who laid off staff did so cause they had no export orders.
This seems so fundamental to whether there are any jobs I feel stupid for saying it.
This might influence a few things around the margins but will just allow more useless employers to screw young people around and make more money for themselves.
This government is so busy pissing in the pockets of the corporates that the small businessman can’t even see that this whole approach will screw them over as well and as has happened in the last twenty years put more and more power in the large international businesses.
It will also ensure that bad businessmen will take longer to get weeded out cause they can now even more so compete on crap wages and undercutting than they do now. This behaviour undermines the small businessman who provides a quality service and many have gone under cause they cannot compete.
Both my boys have opted out of the workforce and have done degrees – they no doubt when qualified will disappear to Aussie costing the country their education and predominantly because of the way successive employers in this country have shafted them.
If anyone thinks that young people think this change is doing them a favour they’re an idiot. They will protest with their feet and this country will be a much adder place because of it.
And to all those racist employers out there the white ones are going first and if you don’t like employing Maori and Pacific Islanders ( or Asians) then pretty soon you won’t have much choice. It won’t be long til half the workforce in this country is non-European.
Of course you’ll all have pissed off overseas with your money anyway – cause you won’t like what you have left behind – and if you haven’t I’ll be making sure my kids won’t be wiping your backside in the rest home that you will find yourself in. You can fend for yourself – just like you want my kids and their kids to do so.
And I might seem a little angry – that’s cause I am cause you wouldn’t support this type of action if you even cared one little bit about my children and their futures.
I feel for you and your family DoS
Do managers like the one at McDonalds have any idea how easily staff can undermine the workplace and cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars and the manager their job.
When I started as a new grad (quite a few years ago now) I was with a big corporate, on their grad recruitment programme. I got paid $31,500 p.a., starting with no experience. Coming on 20 years later, I hear that new grads in my old field are being paid around the same starting salary. WTF. I did some calculations last night taking into account inflation/CPI increases over the years. It’s as if I was being paid $22K p.a. starting. Frakin’ awful. And these are university grads, our future ‘elite’.
This country is being run into the ground by the B Team, who fancy themselves so much they don’t realise how **** they really are.
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and you are absolutely right … and some will term you a xenophobe … most fathers will identify with your concerns
Two things that really make my blood boil about this:
1. A recession caused by corruption, deception and greed on a vast and unprecedented scale results in higher unemployment in NZ. The solution – cut the work rights of those made unemployed (and pretend that the cause of their unemployment is some sort of ‘Act of God’ or natural catastrophe the consequences of which you’re generously attempting to alleviate by removing rights.).
2. Removing work rights to promote ‘labour market flexibility’ is the last in a long line of measures that, by definition, destabilise families, communities, countries and, not the least, individuals (e.g., “if you can’t find a job, move to where you can!”; “Got turfed out of three jobs in 8 months and been unemployed for the rest of the year? Well, the world doesn’t owe you a living – harden up!” “You don’t want to work overtime because you want to see more of your family? Fine, it’s a free world but there’s plenty of others who don’t have your attitude and this business needs to grow – now.”).
And, you know what? Those on the right can’t see that their blessed system is the cause of what they constantly complain about – the ‘breakdown of society’! What a sick joke.