Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, January 18th, 2012 - 9 comments
Green’s MP Gareth Hughes explains the new US internet laws that have the likes of Wikipedia upset, and why we should care: The Green Party is deeply concerned about the Stop Internet Piracy (SOPA) and PROTECT IP (PIPA) Acts currently causing quite a stir in the US and its impacts on New Zealanders access to a free and open Internet and online businesses.
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, January 18th, 2012 - 6 comments
The travesty of the Port of Auckland dispute is that we have a publicly-owned company trying to slash its workers’ pay so that it can try to undercut another majority publicly owned company that has already slashed wages, the only winners being the foreign shipping lines. Well, here’s some of our representatives standing up for Auckland workers.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 18th, 2012 - 63 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, January 17th, 2012 - 132 comments
Every few years, since the 70s, they’ve promised the great New Zealand oil boom is coming. It ain’t going to happen. If there is lots of oil, it’s deepsea and expensive. And they haven’t found it in 40 years of looking. We have a worse production-consumption ratio now then the 80s. Even if we somehow become a massive oil exporter, it’s not the economic panacea you might think.
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, January 17th, 2012 - 182 comments
Work conditions in the Right’s ideal world:
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 17th, 2012 - 105 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 11:19 am, January 16th, 2012 - 20 comments
An interesting passage from Herald on Sunday article on Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson and Maritime Union President Garry Parsloe: … “Gibson won’t confirm reports he earns $750,000, saying “I don’t do this for the money,” … Parsloe grins. “They should stop paying him then. That would save the port quite a lot of money every year for a start”
Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, January 16th, 2012 - 120 comments
Some have compared the Port of Auckland dispute to the 1890 waterfront dispute, 1913 general strike, and 1951 lockout. They want Labour and the Greens to get involved. Actually, this is no 1951 redux. The POA fight is just about one company trying to undercut another. The net effect on New Zealand is zero. The last thing the workers need is Labour creating an excuse for National to attack them.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 16th, 2012 - 146 comments
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, January 15th, 2012 - 157 comments
The Port of Auckland and its National Party allies would have you believe that the stevedores are monsters for not be willing to accept a 20% pay cut so that POA can try to undercut Port of Tauranga (where’s the ‘national interest’ in that, again?). But, let’s hear from these workers, and their families, as they struggle to protect their livelihood.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 15th, 2012 - 22 comments
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear to you, and that we’ll have some decent weather to enjoy. And if you still need your politics fix… Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Step […]
Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, January 14th, 2012 - 54 comments
See Landcorp planning to pay $18m a year rent to a government-linked Chinese firm to run the Crafar farms? So New Zealand is in the enviable position of having to pay rent to foreign owners to farm our own land. Key promised we wouldn’t be tenants in our own land. What’ll be Key’s priority: cutting Kiwi workers’ wages or keeping our land in Kiwi hands?
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 14th, 2012 - 65 comments
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear to you, and that we’ll have some decent weather to enjoy. And if you still need your politics fix… Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Step […]
Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, January 13th, 2012 - 15 comments
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, January 13th, 2012 - 30 comments
My iPad was powerless, so for the first time in a month I reached into the vast numbers of pBooks that litter our shelves and are going to be a real pain to move in a month, and tried to start to read one. I looked at the video of instructions from the 14th century and while that showed me what side to open it from. But where was …….
Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, January 13th, 2012 - 88 comments
Ecological economist Brian Davey explains how while we need to fix the problems of peak oil and climate change, we’re not going to get anywhere until we deal with the psychopathic elite of bankers who have control of the world economy.
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, January 13th, 2012 - 5 comments
The Productivity Commission reports that freight costs are 25% higher here than in Australia and freight costs as a % of cargo value has risen in recent years. Their solution? Make the public and port workers poorer by privatisation and casualisation. Of course, those are ideological goals, not solutions to the freight cost issue, which has nothing to do with ports.
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, January 13th, 2012 - 264 comments
A leaked Ports of Auckland strategy document shows their goal is to reduce the stevedores’ wages by 20%. They were planning to manufacture a crisis even before the stevedores’ collective expired. They’ve been rumbled breaking the law by not bargaining in good faith. Their political support will now evaporate. They should cut their losses, and a deal with the workers, now.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 13th, 2012 - 71 comments
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear to you, and that we’ll have some decent weather to enjoy. And if you still need your politics fix… Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Step […]
Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, January 12th, 2012 - 74 comments
National high flyer Jami-Lee Ross, Ports of Auckland’s chief shill, and Fran O’Sullivan all joined the fray over the port dispute yesterday. How does their line that the workers are overpaid marry with the Port’s claim that they’re offering pay rises? Does the Port project its wage bill would rise or fall if its offer were to be accepted? And what to make of this ‘national interest’ line?
Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, January 12th, 2012 - 33 comments
Employment confidence has plunged to its lowest level in 2 years, according to the latest Westpac survey. A bosses’ shill says workers are wrong to be worried about their jobs. Unfortunately, the bosses have been promising us that everything’s going to be OK for four years now, and workers have a good track record on picking the state of the job market.
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, January 12th, 2012 - 142 comments
DPF has joined the chorus of overpaid righties calling for working people to have their pay cut.
That’s despite him being on a pretty good wicket himself.
What is it with the right and the politics of envy?
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 12th, 2012 - 34 comments
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear to you, and that we’ll have some decent weather to enjoy. And if you still need your politics fix… Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Step […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:31 pm, January 11th, 2012 - 3 comments
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here
Scott’s take on John Key’s contribution to The New Zealand Literature Heritage Trail booklet.
Written By: - Date published: 9:24 pm, January 11th, 2012 - 2 comments
Is the title of the independent High Pay Commission’s report set up to look at “the reasons for the gap between high and low pay in the UK and why this matters.” It is very good and well worth a read. Christchurch City Council CEO’s Tony Marryatt, whose pay late last year rocketed up by $68,000 to $585,000 on a 7-5 split vote, should take note. So should Mayor Bob Parker and the other 6 – the protest goes on.
Written By: - Date published: 9:05 pm, January 11th, 2012 - 137 comments
There has been some interesting material floating around in comments and on facebook about the Ports of Auckland waterside disputing workers wages. Looks like we are starting to get some more information outside of the right wing nut job sites. Ultimately the information has to be provided by the Ports of Auckland because they are the only organisation that holds the wages data across employees. But the figures provided by the P0A (the 91k) include overtime payments, shift payments, superannuation subsidies, medical insurance subsidies and hardly constitute a normal wage that the employee would see..
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, January 11th, 2012 - 9 comments
My challenge (as part of my new life as expert communications / campaign / recruitment consultant to the stars) over the next 6 weeks is to encourage 1000 union members to bring their family into the union family for just $1 a week. That’s 1000 people who are already members of a union affiliated to the CTU to sign up their own family and whanau members to Together
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, January 11th, 2012 - 65 comments
Generating a false crisis to justify their ideological policies is a classic rightwing tactic. Key gravely pronounces the system is ‘broken’ and their policy is the solution. Education has been victim to this bullshit. But OECD stats show that we have the best value for money education in the world. How will National justify their ideological assault on teachers now?
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, January 11th, 2012 - 400 comments
They say that the nice thing about Cameron Slater is he’ll believe whatever he’s paid to believe. Yesterday, I asked whether Slater is being paid to run dirt stories for Ports of Auckland. He didn’t deny it. So what is the Port’s propagandist up to? Yesterday, he was calling for the workers’ pay to be slashed while defending the directors’ massive fees.
Update: Ports of Auckland denies paying Slater anything.
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 11th, 2012 - 20 comments
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear to you, and that we’ll have some decent weather to enjoy. And if you still need your politics fix… Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. Step […]
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