This matter deserves highest attention, and workers all over New Zealand should listen up and take note.
Yes, this is an all out attack or declaration on workers rights.
I hope that unions are getting into gear to launch a solid, effective information campaign. Submissions should be made on the Employment Relations Amendment Act.
My fear and concern is, that little attention will be given to this by the mainstream media, and that many workers will not even know what is planned.
Time to take action, online, at work-places and out on the streets.
Our unions are weak shadows of their former selves.
You’d think something like this would cause massive union protests or even a national general strike but they will go on telly and say it’s terrible but do nothing.
The unions have become largely irrelevant to the vast bulk of workers, primarily because they have refused to move with the times and have chosen to stay in their 1950s bubble ranting cold war and class war rhetoric that people these days simply do not understand or relate to. I put it down to intellectual laziness and an overwhelming sense of ‘we know best’ entitlement. Until the leaders of the ‘union movement’ figure out that they need a 21st century approach, their steady decline over the last 30 years will continue. Otherwise, maybe hold another march, or rally, or demonstration, or sit-in, or strike. That seems to work, right?
Tom Gould: I do not see it as you do. Sadly the Employment Contracts Act created an environment of a “me first” and “me and my own survival” mentality, and that has become embedded, kind of. We also have a younger generation that knows nothing of what work and conditions were like before the early 1990s. They have no experience at all of solidarity and collective efforts, and it is all individual self-fulfillment or self-aggrandisement, with “me first and stuff the rest”.
The media tell us this, and the whole development of self serving consumerism, division, isolation and escapism we see all around us is proof of it.
When I watch the news and other reports, read online about articles on various developments, I laugh about comments about “united efforts” and “solidarity”, which only happens when serious disaster strikes, after fatalities, and the likes. It is non existent, it does not show itself anymore, it is everyone just primarily thinking of him- and herself, and perhaps only about them and their partner, in sex, relationship or for longer living arrangements. Kids also are seen only as extensions of own selfs.
So that is the society we have, so unions are struggling to deal with this, and they are certainly not stuck in the 50s, they are, same like churches, other social associations, struggling to adjust to the “modern” lifestyles of people.
People are brainwashed into selfishness, consumerism, division and individualism, and that is the younger generation at large. Collective events are only mass parties on booze and drugs, promoted by Facebook announcements, some concerts at venues, and freak events where people turn up for a joint haka at the bottom on Queen St in Auckland, and afterwards disperse as quickly as they met.
There is NO joint effort, no feeling of common efforts anymore, and that is why unions suffer also. If people cannot or do not bother to take joint action, nothing will be achieved. I have commented before, that all this online commenting is good in some ways, but the fact that most here do never go and attend pickets or else, makes them invisible, and not noticed, that is by media and the public.
You may as well run a closet union going by your suggestions. Hide and seek, all right, I’d say.
I admit, they are generally as rigid and solid in their response as a wet bus ticket.
The problem is, they chose many years ago, to try the laissez faire modern capitalist service deliverer way, to offer their “services” wrapped into discounts for this and that at certain businesses, chose to cooperate with employers to avoid strife and conflict, and thus sold their souls to some degrees.
I have nothing in principle to object to co-operation and such an approach, as long as basic bottom line standards and pay are maintained, but it has long gone too far. Union delegates are aware that they live off membership fees, and while numbers have fallen immensely since the Employment Contracts Act was introduced under the meanest Nat led government in the early 1990s, the fees gathered are limited.
They fear the job losses of remaining members will further reduce their income and resource base, so they try everything to make deals with employers to avoid lay-offs and closures. The larger economic picture is one given up and handed over to merely their economic advisor, who now and then gives comments to the media.
They have forgotten that solidarity is strength and that co-ordianted action can bring greater results. Maybe they also have become too self focused as individuals, rather seeing their organiser roles as a “job” with added pay, and nothing else.
Mission and passion are no longer there, and what they do is more like a pre-retirement activity of people still calling themselves unionists.
Too much complicity, lack of faith, resignation and thus unconvincing action. As most are Labour affiliated, no wonder the party is more or less the same, that is too many in it, and especially the ones controlling it from the top.
Apart from that members have become cynical, and in general people have sadly adapted to the individualistic society imposed on them. It is me first, and if I can strike a good deal with my boss, fuck the rest.
Speaking of major campaigns; isn’t UNITE going after after MacDonalds in the courts, and the streets, for non-payment of time worked during their workers’ supposed breaks? Is this going to be another one of ShonKey’s signature retrospective fixes?
In a way, I guess congratulations are in order. NACT have just graduated from Micky Mouse legislation to Maccy Rat Law.
It will be another legislative stuff up by Bridges for example the absence of work breaks will become a hazard under health and safety legislation
You must consider your obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act. This includes controlling hazards, such as physical and mental fatigue, which could result in people being harmed. Where fatigue has been identified as a hazard, appropriate rest breaks should be provided to ensure that fatigue is not likely to cause harm.
the burden of proof is on the employers,and that an absence of breaks is not hazardous will be very difficult to prove (when the literature suggests the inverse).
I’m not sure about the title – And so it begins
…90 day right to fire, youth slave-wages, union restrictions, minimum wage decrease in relation to living costs, etc. It should be And so it continues.
But yeah, nice work from Darien.
‘They are stealing your tea-break’ is a simple and effective soundbite attack that even Shearer might be able to pull off
Not only that but trying to break the backs of all Unions.I have thought for so long now that the nats goal is to deconstruct New Zealand so they can reconstruct it the way they want it.With the assistance of the simple mindedness of our lack lustre msm they are well on their way.We need to have the passion of the Turks and get out in the streets and get rid of these abject excuses for politicians.Labour needs to GET LOUD.keys complacency needs to be rattled!!!
Can Labour get some full page adverts published in MSM listing all the law changes under National, showing how our rights and workplaces have changed under this frigging awful government?
The sheeple need it spelled out in black and white, so they can see what has been done in their name.
I am afraid too many of the sheeples are too busy tweeting trivialities and frivolities on Twitter, and too busy with online shopping and flirtations.
No time for such dreadfully “serious” matters, which may create the onset of serious depression.
Most workers will be totally unaware of these proposed changes! As most workers are also not unionised, they will be ignorant of much that is likely to worsen their conditions at the workplace.
Workplaces are often lone fighter and survival environments, where many are mindful of what they say and do, to not upset the boss or colleagues.
There was a reason why taxes were once so high incomes and profits, and will be so again. The churn from cheap fuels allowed, permitted, a much looser monetarism. As the relief from fracking gases wears off, the reality will become overwhelming, that companies, capitalist, in order to have businesses, to have consumers for their products, will need citizens to have money to spend, and pre-Thatcher the way governments did that was by taxing and redistributing.
that companies, capitalist, in order to have businesses, to have consumers for their products, will need citizens to have money to spend, and pre-Thatcher the way governments did that was by taxing and redistributing.
I should add that the big corporates’ efforts are always attracted to markets with high growth potential.
And sorry western world, that’s Africa, Asia and China.
Unless western govts had invested in its people, increased spare time, increased access to technolgy, built better cities, reduced car use, etc, etc, instead Thatcher decided (well not decided perse rather propaganda dictates declared her policies were the only way). Had we had thirty years of investment in the people rather than finance, we’d be much better off, and likely also would Africa and Asia (not China) because instead of priming our military industrial complex we’d have been been building global democracy.
No, Darien didn’t provide documentation to prove such a thing. Simon Bridges did.
“…Workplaces will be able to time rest breaks and meal breaks to suit service or production continuity, as far as is reasonable (including allowing for those circumstances in which it is necessary to restrict breaks be-cause of the nature of the work being undertaken), with an employer being able to determine the arrangement where agreement cannot be reached…”
and the Employer will be able to walk away from the table when they feel like it
so it is a take it or leave it situation which only ever hurts the workers, never the Employers
And if they do get that they’ll then ask for it to be doubled again and when they get that they’ll just ask for the power to fire at will and if National are in government they’ll give it to them.
Aha! Now HERE’S a story, finally, eh? You’re onto something, Yes! Call the police, it’s time to get that anarcho-communist-terrorist Darien Fenton locked up for good!
I know of many working in retail not even getting breaks now, so how bloody inhumane and dictatorial will employers be able to run their staff in future?
This bill is a disgrace, and those that doubt it, have a look at it.
If National gets a third term, they will introduce uniforms to be worn by all workers in public service, I presume, neatly designed along military kinds of uniforms, so all public service employees will be easily detectable.
Private enterprise employees will be called for morning drills, to get fit and strong to perform their duties like Chinese factory workers.
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New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
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A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
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Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
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This matter deserves highest attention, and workers all over New Zealand should listen up and take note.
Yes, this is an all out attack or declaration on workers rights.
I hope that unions are getting into gear to launch a solid, effective information campaign. Submissions should be made on the Employment Relations Amendment Act.
My fear and concern is, that little attention will be given to this by the mainstream media, and that many workers will not even know what is planned.
Time to take action, online, at work-places and out on the streets.
Our unions are weak shadows of their former selves.
You’d think something like this would cause massive union protests or even a national general strike but they will go on telly and say it’s terrible but do nothing.
The unions have become largely irrelevant to the vast bulk of workers, primarily because they have refused to move with the times and have chosen to stay in their 1950s bubble ranting cold war and class war rhetoric that people these days simply do not understand or relate to. I put it down to intellectual laziness and an overwhelming sense of ‘we know best’ entitlement. Until the leaders of the ‘union movement’ figure out that they need a 21st century approach, their steady decline over the last 30 years will continue. Otherwise, maybe hold another march, or rally, or demonstration, or sit-in, or strike. That seems to work, right?
Tom Gould: I do not see it as you do. Sadly the Employment Contracts Act created an environment of a “me first” and “me and my own survival” mentality, and that has become embedded, kind of. We also have a younger generation that knows nothing of what work and conditions were like before the early 1990s. They have no experience at all of solidarity and collective efforts, and it is all individual self-fulfillment or self-aggrandisement, with “me first and stuff the rest”.
The media tell us this, and the whole development of self serving consumerism, division, isolation and escapism we see all around us is proof of it.
When I watch the news and other reports, read online about articles on various developments, I laugh about comments about “united efforts” and “solidarity”, which only happens when serious disaster strikes, after fatalities, and the likes. It is non existent, it does not show itself anymore, it is everyone just primarily thinking of him- and herself, and perhaps only about them and their partner, in sex, relationship or for longer living arrangements. Kids also are seen only as extensions of own selfs.
So that is the society we have, so unions are struggling to deal with this, and they are certainly not stuck in the 50s, they are, same like churches, other social associations, struggling to adjust to the “modern” lifestyles of people.
People are brainwashed into selfishness, consumerism, division and individualism, and that is the younger generation at large. Collective events are only mass parties on booze and drugs, promoted by Facebook announcements, some concerts at venues, and freak events where people turn up for a joint haka at the bottom on Queen St in Auckland, and afterwards disperse as quickly as they met.
There is NO joint effort, no feeling of common efforts anymore, and that is why unions suffer also. If people cannot or do not bother to take joint action, nothing will be achieved. I have commented before, that all this online commenting is good in some ways, but the fact that most here do never go and attend pickets or else, makes them invisible, and not noticed, that is by media and the public.
You may as well run a closet union going by your suggestions. Hide and seek, all right, I’d say.
I admit, they are generally as rigid and solid in their response as a wet bus ticket.
The problem is, they chose many years ago, to try the laissez faire modern capitalist service deliverer way, to offer their “services” wrapped into discounts for this and that at certain businesses, chose to cooperate with employers to avoid strife and conflict, and thus sold their souls to some degrees.
I have nothing in principle to object to co-operation and such an approach, as long as basic bottom line standards and pay are maintained, but it has long gone too far. Union delegates are aware that they live off membership fees, and while numbers have fallen immensely since the Employment Contracts Act was introduced under the meanest Nat led government in the early 1990s, the fees gathered are limited.
They fear the job losses of remaining members will further reduce their income and resource base, so they try everything to make deals with employers to avoid lay-offs and closures. The larger economic picture is one given up and handed over to merely their economic advisor, who now and then gives comments to the media.
They have forgotten that solidarity is strength and that co-ordianted action can bring greater results. Maybe they also have become too self focused as individuals, rather seeing their organiser roles as a “job” with added pay, and nothing else.
Mission and passion are no longer there, and what they do is more like a pre-retirement activity of people still calling themselves unionists.
Too much complicity, lack of faith, resignation and thus unconvincing action. As most are Labour affiliated, no wonder the party is more or less the same, that is too many in it, and especially the ones controlling it from the top.
Apart from that members have become cynical, and in general people have sadly adapted to the individualistic society imposed on them. It is me first, and if I can strike a good deal with my boss, fuck the rest.
Good on Darien for highlighting this.
Agree with xtasy – needs a major campaign.
Speaking of major campaigns; isn’t UNITE going after after MacDonalds in the courts, and the streets, for non-payment of time worked during their workers’ supposed breaks? Is this going to be another one of ShonKey’s signature retrospective fixes?
In a way, I guess congratulations are in order. NACT have just graduated from Micky Mouse legislation to Maccy Rat Law.
It will be another legislative stuff up by Bridges for example the absence of work breaks will become a hazard under health and safety legislation
You must consider your obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act. This includes controlling hazards, such as physical and mental fatigue, which could result in people being harmed. Where fatigue has been identified as a hazard, appropriate rest breaks should be provided to ensure that fatigue is not likely to cause harm.
the burden of proof is on the employers,and that an absence of breaks is not hazardous will be very difficult to prove (when the literature suggests the inverse).
I’m not sure about the title – And so it begins
…90 day right to fire, youth slave-wages, union restrictions, minimum wage decrease in relation to living costs, etc. It should be And so it continues.
But yeah, nice work from Darien.
‘They are stealing your tea-break’ is a simple and effective soundbite attack that even Shearer might be able to pull off
Yeah an outstanding bit of framing from Darien.
Not only that but trying to break the backs of all Unions.I have thought for so long now that the nats goal is to deconstruct New Zealand so they can reconstruct it the way they want it.With the assistance of the simple mindedness of our lack lustre msm they are well on their way.We need to have the passion of the Turks and get out in the streets and get rid of these abject excuses for politicians.Labour needs to GET LOUD.keys complacency needs to be rattled!!!
Might help if you actually link it to something.
Here is the EPMU press release on Scoop: National’s Employment Changes Mean a Low Wage Future For NZ
Can Labour get some full page adverts published in MSM listing all the law changes under National, showing how our rights and workplaces have changed under this frigging awful government?
The sheeple need it spelled out in black and white, so they can see what has been done in their name.
Being close to bankruptcy probably prevents too much one page ad stuff.
I am afraid too many of the sheeples are too busy tweeting trivialities and frivolities on Twitter, and too busy with online shopping and flirtations.
No time for such dreadfully “serious” matters, which may create the onset of serious depression.
Most workers will be totally unaware of these proposed changes! As most workers are also not unionised, they will be ignorant of much that is likely to worsen their conditions at the workplace.
Workplaces are often lone fighter and survival environments, where many are mindful of what they say and do, to not upset the boss or colleagues.
There was a reason why taxes were once so high incomes and profits, and will be so again. The churn from cheap fuels allowed, permitted, a much looser monetarism. As the relief from fracking gases wears off, the reality will become overwhelming, that companies, capitalist, in order to have businesses, to have consumers for their products, will need citizens to have money to spend, and pre-Thatcher the way governments did that was by taxing and redistributing.
just for completeness, you understand.
I should add that the big corporates’ efforts are always attracted to markets with high growth potential.
And sorry western world, that’s Africa, Asia and China.
Unless western govts had invested in its people, increased spare time, increased access to technolgy, built better cities, reduced car use, etc, etc, instead Thatcher decided (well not decided perse rather propaganda dictates declared her policies were the only way). Had we had thirty years of investment in the people rather than finance, we’d be much better off, and likely also would Africa and Asia (not China) because instead of priming our military industrial complex we’d have been been building global democracy.
Did she produce actual documentation that under the next National government, that their will be no breaks for New Zealand workers.
No, Darien didn’t provide documentation to prove such a thing. Simon Bridges did.
“…Workplaces will be able to time rest breaks and meal breaks to suit service or production continuity, as far as is reasonable (including allowing for those circumstances in which it is necessary to restrict breaks be-cause of the nature of the work being undertaken), with an employer being able to determine the arrangement where agreement cannot be reached…”
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/9A53507A-23B2-4B63-AEF1-2DB3DE5BEFCF/271799/DBHOH_BILL_12107_EmploymentRelationsAmendmentBill_.pdf
and the Employer will be able to walk away from the table when they feel like it
so it is a take it or leave it situation which only ever hurts the workers, never the Employers
Why would she do that when that’s not what she said?
Our Elite
The Key was in his counting house
Counting out his money – again
The Turia was in the Parlour eating
Lots of Bread and Honey – again
The Maid was in the yard w o r k i n g
hanging out the clothes and
Along came Bill English and ripped off her nose – Again.
MSM tried to slip this under the radar,
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8760947/Union-alarm-at-talk-of-longer-work-trial
Why am I not surprised?
And if they do get that they’ll then ask for it to be doubled again and when they get that they’ll just ask for the power to fire at will and if National are in government they’ll give it to them.
Doesn’t copy right law not allow other people’s images to be used. Hmmm will make a cup of tea and read the act
Yes it doesn’t.
Aha! Now HERE’S a story, finally, eh? You’re onto something, Yes! Call the police, it’s time to get that anarcho-communist-terrorist Darien Fenton locked up for good!
Maybe permission was given, or the use of the image not objected to? In that case, what is your point?
Glad you put it here as Redalert is an unsafe place where cyberbullies masquerading as Labour MPs hang out.
Binders, is that satire? What I notice is that Red Alert is a place where mostly the same commenters hang out.
No satire.. I commented on something ..just facts.. nothing outlandish.. and an MP went rogue-state personal on me. Easy peasy haven’t been back.
Just the name “red alert” should send the message, be well red alerted, to even consider going there these days!
I know of many working in retail not even getting breaks now, so how bloody inhumane and dictatorial will employers be able to run their staff in future?
This bill is a disgrace, and those that doubt it, have a look at it.
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/BillsDigests/5/d/c/50PLLaw20451-Employment-Relations-Amendment-Bill-2013-Bills-Digest.htm
If National gets a third term, they will introduce uniforms to be worn by all workers in public service, I presume, neatly designed along military kinds of uniforms, so all public service employees will be easily detectable.
Private enterprise employees will be called for morning drills, to get fit and strong to perform their duties like Chinese factory workers.