workers’ rights

Categories under workers’ rights

health and safety (156)
unemployment (251)
Unions (427)
wages (502)

Save our tea breaks

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:50 pm, October 23rd, 2014 - 97 comments

EPMU endorses Andrew Little for Labour leader

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:07 am, October 20th, 2014 - 67 comments

The EPMU have just announced they’re endorsing Andrew Little for Labour leader.

The power & the pressure

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:00 am, October 14th, 2014 - 115 comments

We need a new green left direction, now and for the future. A future Labour-Green-Mana coalition government could provide such a direction. The original NZ Values Party Manifesto provides an important Blueprint.

Hickey on the living wage

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:39 am, October 12th, 2014 - 22 comments

Excellent piece by Bernard Hickey in The Herald this morning.

ANZ staff striking

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:31 pm, October 10th, 2014 - 24 comments

All the best to the ANZ staff who are on strike today.

Unaffordable housing & the culture of greed

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:17 am, October 4th, 2014 - 47 comments

Rental housing remains unaffordable for many. The problem is the greed of investors & speculators, supported by a culture in which housing investment is seen as a way to individual prosperity.

Hello National, bye bye breaks …

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 2:00 pm, September 28th, 2014 - 53 comments

Our guest poster has a look at the Employment relations Amendment Bill that National will attempt to sneak through during Labour’s leadership primary. This bill is clearly targeted at those employees who are most vulnerable. It reinforces the Nat’s slow and steady but effective chipping away of employee’s rights and will really resonate with its core constituency

The lurch to the right begins

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 9:20 am, September 22nd, 2014 - 129 comments

Expect to see a lot of drastic rightwing policies this term as John Key redefines the term “centre ground.”

My morning thoughts on the night before

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:20 am, September 21st, 2014 - 34 comments

It will take a flax roots, bottom-up, community-based movement to rebuild democracy and a fair, caring and sustainable society.

The tweets are alive….

Written By: karol - Date published: 9:48 am, September 19th, 2014 - 5 comments

… with pre-election day fervour. It’s an election that’s going down to the wire. The energy is there for the left to keep talking to people, and to encourage as many as possible to get out and vote. It’s Suffrage Day – reporting via the telegraph in 1893 to the internet today. On-going updates

The email

Written By: karol - Date published: 2:57 pm, September 15th, 2014 - 143 comments

The email that alleges to show John key was in on a conspiracy, with Hollywood execs, to entrap Dotcom in NZ so they could extradite him to the US. Updated. Warners say the email is fake. But who was applying the “political pressure”? Updated: Cameron Slater is a techno idiot.

The only way National know to grow the economy

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 5:15 pm, September 10th, 2014 - 19 comments

On Firstline this morning, John Key tried to compare National’s and Labour’s policies by saying “You can’t grow the economy when you restrict labour laws.” It’s nonsense, and it’s scary.

Condolences: safety at work

Written By: karol - Date published: 12:57 pm, September 1st, 2014 - 76 comments

My condolences to those close to the victims of the horrific actions in Ashburton today.

Parker nails English on economic policy

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 2:25 pm, August 25th, 2014 - 32 comments

Labour has the bold set of policies to take New Zealand forward into the 21st century – National’s “same old same old” tinkering will see the Kiwi skiff swamped. That was the clear conclusion from the debate between David Parker and Bill English on National Radio this morning.

Valuing child care: beyond ‘show me the money!’

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:36 am, August 19th, 2014 - 10 comments

Simon Collins has published a very good article comparing various parties policies on social security. As is the current trend, he doesn’t fully examine the deep and lasting contribution good child care & education make towards society & the economy. It’s about material and social well-being.

How Dirty Politics hurt low-paid workers

Written By: Stephanie Rodgers - Date published: 6:00 pm, August 18th, 2014 - 28 comments

While the right tries to distract and deflect from Dirty Politics, it pays to take a look at who got hurt by Cameron Slater and his buddies.

Helen Kelly on Vote Chat: Questions for PoA & Key?

Written By: karol - Date published: 1:35 pm, August 16th, 2014 - 17 comments

Helen Kelly is interviewed on Vote Chat. Kelly raises questions about the Ports of Auckland & Key’s role in Dirty Politics. She has read some of Dirty Politics, & was axed from today’s the Nation Panel, then replaced by Josie Pagani.[Updated]

Leading voices: TV debates

Written By: karol - Date published: 12:17 pm, August 9th, 2014 - 101 comments

There’s much to discuss on the two election-focused TV debates conducted over the last 24 hours. Prime TV’s new show: Prime Time with Sean Plunket – Bennett & Turei on poverty/inequality (Prime TV Fridays 9.30pm): TV 3’s The Nation: Saturday 9.30am

Fuck inequality! Fuck poverty! Fuck the Nat govt!

Written By: karol - Date published: 12:00 pm, August 8th, 2014 - 267 comments

There are sobering & harrowing stories coming out of AAAP’s Action Impact at Mangere this week. It exposes the vast inequalities & poverty existing in NZ. Vote to end this destruction of humanity & democracy! Vote for compassion, caring & sharing! VOTE LEFT!

Spread the word: enrol to vote

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:09 am, August 4th, 2014 - 15 comments

Live News is reporting that 40,000 people have been removed from the electoral roll because they have moved address. Their enrolment update packs were returned to sender with the message: “gone no address”.

Labour – Raise the minimum wage

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:05 pm, August 1st, 2014 - 298 comments

Labour is promising to raise the minimum wage to $16.25. It’s the right thing to do. And it doesn’t cost jobs.

Local Bodies: Novopay Exemplifies National’s Governance

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:45 am, July 31st, 2014 - 26 comments

This National led Government is strong on ideology, weak on process and reluctant to accept responsibility. The Novopay debacle exemplifies all of these well. When questioned about Novopay, National Ministers will never accept full responsibility. Stephen Joyce has just announced that the Government will be taking over the management of Novopay after almost two years of stress and wide-ranging issues. No matter what National and its Ministers claim, Novopay is largely their fault, and taking responsibility and making apologies are not what this Government does readily.

Wages up – Work secure – Labour policy

Written By: Mike Smith - Date published: 1:03 pm, July 30th, 2014 - 165 comments

Labour has today released its Work and Wages policy. An immediate lift to $15 in the minimum wage, and a raise to $16.25 in April next year. 90 day free sacking option for employers to go in first 100 days. Core public service to get the Living Wage first, others to follow. That’ll put some money where it’s most needed.

Work life balance

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:22 am, July 20th, 2014 - 172 comments

David Cunliffe is now being criticised for having a short holiday with his family. It is strange that it should be thought of as a bad thing for the leader of the party interested in improving ordinary people’s quality of life to try and get some work life balance.

Re-writing 2nd Wave Women’s Movement: Pat Rosier – h/t Hand Mirror

Written By: karol - Date published: 1:02 pm, July 19th, 2014 - 8 comments

A must read Hand Mirror post acknowledges the passing of Pat Rossier. She played a significant role in NZ’s 2nd wave Women’s Movement. Misinformation about feminism fails to represent its diversity & socialist underpinnings. A full chronicle of the NZ 2nd wave is needed.

Tales from the left ground

Written By: karol - Date published: 6:34 pm, July 17th, 2014 - 26 comments

I was uplifted by seeing Team Carmel Sepuloni out campaigning in Henderson today. Marama Davidson has been out on the ground in Otara. The Internet-Mana Party have gone on a Road Trip. There’s been an on-going left campaign in Ohariu…. what are the tales from the left, campaigning on the ground?!

Russel Norman: ‘smart, green’, innovation economy

Written By: karol - Date published: 1:47 pm, July 16th, 2014 - 34 comments

Russel Norman has announced a business-friendly policy for a “smart, green” focus on innovation. A move towards a “Green New Deal”, working with the current system, and away from neoliberalism. It won’t dismantle capitalism, but exists within a framework for a fairer NZ.

Polity: Minimum wage rises do not cause unemployment

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:00 am, July 16th, 2014 - 48 comments

In the cartoon world of Economics 101, there is perfect supply, perfect competition, perfect demand, perfect information and prices for labour (and everything else) are set at their true market values. The real world is somewhat different.

NRT: So much for the surplus

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 1:21 pm, July 8th, 2014 - 40 comments

As was generally expected by anyone who’d been watching the actual economy rather than just the dairy exports, business profits are lower than expected. And there aren’t the jobs and pay increases in our “rockstar” economy. So consumer spending measured by GST is low as well. Meanwhile the price inflation keeps increasing government costs. So we are already on track for a large deficit next year rather than the government’s much-touted imaginary surplus. You have to ask why we deserve a government that appears to live more in a universe of wishful thinking than reality.

The real aims of National’s “Education” policy.

Written By: KJT - Date published: 10:32 am, July 8th, 2014 - 149 comments

If the aims of National/ACT’s education policy were, genuinely, to to improve the learning, education and career choices for our children, including the ones that are failing at present, they would not be following policies which have signally failed to achieve any of these goals, anywhere else they have been tried.