workers’ rights

Categories under workers’ rights

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

The zero growth agenda

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 6:43 am, May 14th, 2012 - 68 comments

I chuckled to read Fran O’Shillivan on Sunday: “John Key has made a strategic decision to burn some political capital and front-foot major Government decisions” – yeah, all those major decisions: $1m for contraception, ‘tackling cyber-bullying’, a petty pokies for convention centre deal, even their centrepiece policy – asset sales – won’t benefit the economy a jot.

AFFCO appeal

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:50 pm, May 11th, 2012 - 18 comments

The CTU have launched an appeal for donations towards the food and essential bills of AFFCO workers.
Please Donate to NZCTU DISPUTES FUND, 38 9007 0894028 08. Money will go direct to workers.

The real reason for the secret ballot law

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 7:35 am, May 11th, 2012 - 54 comments

The tories are all puffed up about finally getting their secret ballot law passed. It’s about freedom they say, they’re on the side of the working man.

Thing is it’s not. And they most certainly aren’t.

He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 6:21 am, May 8th, 2012 - 136 comments

Don’t get me wrong. Apart from a couple of policies (asset sales, overseas investment, no borrowing for tax cuts), Colin Craig’s politics are bad. But I like his Boscawen-like mad honesty. It’s fun. Mainly because it makes him so uncomfortable for his new National suitors. But his up-frontness ends when asked about his compulsory Christianity employment contracts.

NRT: Bringing Ports of Auckland to heel

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 10:54 am, May 7th, 2012 - 11 comments

Over the past few months, we’ve seen Auckland City’s wholly-owned port, Ports of Auckland, waging war against its own workforce, costing the city millions of dollars in lost dividends. Now, the Auckland Council has acted, requiring its intermediate Auckland Council Investments Limited to impose “good employer” provisions on its subsidiaries.

Talley’s cracking

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 6:51 am, May 4th, 2012 - 36 comments

It is a fundamental injustice of our society that one family, which already has more than it can ever need, can hold 1,300 families, who have very little, to ransom just to make a little more cash. But the union makes us working people strong. By standing together, the workers are beating Talley’s in the AFFCO lockout. Talley’s cracked. Wants half them back. The workers have said ‘all of us or none of us’.

1000 more jobless each week

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 2:17 pm, May 3rd, 2012 - 28 comments

The unemployment rate has jumped to 6.7%, as National delivered only 20,000 of the 36,000 jobs promised last budget. Last quarter there were 12,000 more jobless.

Where’s our recovery John? Have you sold that off too?

Wages rise faster than inflation!

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 7:27 am, May 2nd, 2012 - 26 comments

For the first time under this National government, average wages and salaries actually rose (2%) faster than inflation (1.6%), so in the last year people are ever so slightly better off – I think congratulations are in order!

Nat’s sell Kiwis out for their mates (again)

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 9:05 am, April 27th, 2012 - 188 comments

Remember way back when the government were changing the law to take rights off film workers and increase tax breaks for Warners? It was all about keeping Kiwi jobs they said.

Well it turns out that at the same time they were doing this they were also making promises to Peter Jackson that those Kiwi jobs would be given to imported workers.

A Butcher’s Shop, a Toy Shop, a Candy Store and a Childcare Centre

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 1:30 pm, April 25th, 2012 - 14 comments

Steven Joyce’s personal fiefdom of Economic Development, Science and Innovation, Building and Housing, and Labour is confirmed. Now for the redundancies…

A society that works for the few doesn’t work

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 11:25 am, April 23rd, 2012 - 76 comments

This country produces $200 billion of wealth a year. Yet half of adults have incomes less than $29,000 a year. 200,000 kids live in poverty, may in working families. A tiny few – the 1% – pocket the lion’s share. There is no justification. It is bad for society and the economy. Helen Kelly confronts the greed irrational of one rich family, the Talley’s, and how it’s hurting 1,300 poor working families.

The other wage gap

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 12:26 pm, April 20th, 2012 - 22 comments

In his speech yesterday, David Shearer talked about how wages have lagged productivity gains since the neoliberal revolution. Here’s what he was talking about:

Vision part 2: a more equal NZ

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 10:31 pm, April 19th, 2012 - 23 comments

David Shearer’s delivered his second “Vision” speech. It’s good to hear he wants to lead a government that tackles inequality, wants proper jobs rather than casualised ones and our kids earning or learning.

Winning the race to the bottom

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 11:38 am, April 19th, 2012 - 42 comments

You don’t get fat off the crumbs from someone else’s table and you don’t get rich by being someone else’s butler. So, why the Nats are so happy that Australia is sending a few call centre and cigarette jobs here, where wages are lower, I don’t know. We’ll be wealthier if we produce more wealth, more stuff of real value. Not if our competitive advantage is low wages and insecure jobs.

Employers back Paid Parental

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 12:36 pm, April 13th, 2012 - 43 comments

When even your friends are telling you you’ve got it wrong, it’s time to reconsider. So Bill: the Employers Union (EMA) and Family First want Paid Parental leave. It’s not too expensive, it’s back by all childcare experts, and the cost is even delayed. Just do it.

A(nother) bad day for the dynamic duo

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:05 am, April 13th, 2012 - 40 comments

It was a bad day yesterday for the ‘heavy hitters’ of the Collins faction, Slater and Lusk. First, Ports of Auckland admitted supplying them with a workers’ private details. Then, the smear on the Meatworkers that they had orchestrated with Talley’s was shot down by the SFO in record time. Finally, Michelle Boag gave them a public serve on RNZ, fueling civil war talk.

Another classic Slater/Lusk own goal

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:08 am, April 12th, 2012 - 170 comments

Slater/Lusk have been running a series of posts on the finances of the unions. Pretty weak stuff. All Slater/Lusk have proven is that they don’t understand the corporate structure of unions, they can’t read accounts, and they can’t do research. Still, you knew they were seeding something. And then came the Talleys’ complaint to the SFO about the Meatworkers’ Union.

How wealthy do you feel?

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 9:14 am, April 9th, 2012 - 112 comments

If everyone earned the same amount (including babies) across the entire world, we’d each get about $USD10,000 each. So a family of four anywhere in the world would get about $NZD49,000. That figure makes world poverty pretty hard to stomach. It’s not that there’s not enough in this world – only that some people haven’t learnt to share.

AFFCO to extend lockout to avoid holiday pay

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:02 am, April 4th, 2012 - 81 comments

Talley’s has sunk to a new low in the AFFCO lockout. Not content with trying to starve out 1,000 workers and force them to accept 20% pay cuts, Talley’s-owned AFFCO meatworks are planning to lockout hundreds more workers on the Easter statutory holidays – just to save on paying its workers holiday leave. It’s a despicable, and hopefully illegal, move.

Woka Woka Wharfie Fundraiser – Akl tonight

Written By: Julie Fairey - Date published: 12:15 pm, April 3rd, 2012 - 10 comments

Something to do in Auckland tonight: What: Special screening of The Muppets Where: Hoyts Sylvia Park, Mt Wellington When: Tonight, April 3rd, 6.10pm to 8.30pm Don’t let those muppets at the Ports of Auckland get you down, come laugh at the real Muppets instead! Some door sales will be available, or you can email julie.fairey@gmail.com […]

On incompetent management

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 9:03 am, April 1st, 2012 - 28 comments

Once upon a time, decades ago now, ports were run by a person called the Harbourmaster. He used to be a highly qualified and experienced Master Mariner, who had extensive knowledge of shipping and decades of experience, at sea and within the port. All this competence and experience came at a wage, at most, five times the average wage.

It’s safe to get off the fence now, Len

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 9:54 am, March 31st, 2012 - 50 comments

The PoAL management looks as incompetent and divided as the Nats after their ‘bullet-proof’ contracting out plans were shot down by the Employment Court and a director resigned publicly admonishment management’s strategy. Time to use that bully pulpit, Len. Say you have no confidence in Pearson and Gibson, demand they drop their plans, and get the port back to work.

Workers’ victory over incompetent PoAL management

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 8:32 am, March 28th, 2012 - 43 comments

Ports of Auckland must pay the permanent workers among the union members it had illegally locked out. It’s only a partial victory for workers who want to work and have long-term job security, not just get paid for two weeks. But it’s yet another costly defeat for management. How long will they keep burning ratepayers’ money like this before the council acts?

Workers take PoAL management back to court

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 10:14 am, March 27th, 2012 - 6 comments

Mediation broke down in the Port dispute again yesterday with the PoAL management still refusing to make any concessions. So it’s back to court for a ruling on PoAL’s lockout without notice. Hopefully, the Court will side with reason, force the Port to allow the workers back and impose compensation for lost wages along with hefty fines.

Time for workers in the boardroom

Written By: Ben Clark - Date published: 8:20 am, March 27th, 2012 - 20 comments

German corporations’ boards are half employee representatives. This has stopped outsourcing, short-term executive thinking, outrageous executive/director pay and can only have improved worker relations. Their economy is sustainable and powering ahead out of the financial crisis through innovation and productivity. Could such an idea catch on here?

Local Board members call for council action on PoAL

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:40 am, March 24th, 2012 - 38 comments

We’ve received the following press release from Auckland Council Local Board members calling on Len Brown and the councilors to stand up to PoAL’s out of control management. The workers want to work and be more productive. The bosses want to screw them out of their pay to increase profits and are acting irrationally in pursuit of that goal.

Back to basics

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:54 pm, March 23rd, 2012 - 5 comments

The Herald editorial says many “saw a more efficient and more flexible port emerging from” contracting out at PoAL. This is an oft-spouted fundamental misunderstanding of what is happening. Contracting out would not reduce time or cost to move freight. It would just reduce the downtime the port pays for amounting to a simple transfer of wealth from wages to profits.

PoAL’s illegal lockout adds to Auckland’s losses

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 9:02 am, March 23rd, 2012 - 178 comments

The Port of Auckland’s refusal to let the stevedores return to work now that they have lifted their strike notice is a lock-out. There are specific legal requirements around strikes and lock-outs at ports and other essential services – notice must be given in writing and with 14 days’ notice. The Port’s lock-out is illegal. And it’s costing Auckland millions.

Call me paranoid but I’m thinking that putting the Government’s bully-boy in charge of the rights of working Kiwis may not bode well for employment relations over the next few years.