workers’ rights
Categories under workers’ rights
- health and safety (156)
- unemployment (251)
- Unions (427)
- wages (502)
None so blind
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, October 7th, 2011 - 81 comments
National’s economic credibility was shot to pieces last week when Fitch and Standard & Poor’s gave them ‘not achieved’ marks. Less than a quarter of the OECD has been downgraded. New Zealand is one of them. The Nats won’t admit there’s a problem. When the statistics are laid in front of them, they say they’re wrong. In the Nats’ war with reality, we’re the victims.
The Nats’ muddle, your job on the line
Written By: - Date published: 6:43 am, October 3rd, 2011 - 43 comments
As National muddles through, refusing to reexamine its economic plans after the shock double-downgrade on Friday, the job losses are starting to pile up again. It’s very reminiscent of the last recession, which we will haven’t recovered from thanks to 3 years of muddling. Can we afford 3 more years? Here’s a list of job losses in the past month.
VTM Bill passes – rejoice!
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, September 30th, 2011 - 101 comments
Grateful citizens rejoiced this week at the passage of the VTM (Voluntary Taxation Mechanism) bill.
Muddling through question time
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 am, September 29th, 2011 - 23 comments
National did not cope well yesterday when their economic record was held up to the light. John Key was all at sea as he tried to dismiss new statistics showing 47,000 jobs have been lost under his watch. He cited instead another statistical series, which he has previously rejected when it showed 56,000 more people are unemployed under National.
Sleepover Bill in House tonight
Written By: - Date published: 4:10 pm, September 27th, 2011 - 48 comments
The last student protest?
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, September 27th, 2011 - 55 comments
One of the big stories last night was the anti-VSM protest at Auckland Uni. Was it the last one we will see in NZ? That would suit the Nats very nicely – sheep will be so much easier to fleece…
The Jackal: Time for a Tax Revamp
Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, September 14th, 2011 - 64 comments
The other day, Irish covered the odious comments from liquidator/columnist Damien Grant calling unskilled people ‘commodities’. That was in the context of a pretty flimsy attack on Gareth Morgan and Susan Guthrie’s ‘Big Kahuna’ tax plan. Yesterday, Morgan and Guthrie responded to Grant’s attacks. The Jackal says Morgan and Guthrie have it right.
National Brain Drain
Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, September 12th, 2011 - 47 comments
National promised to close the wage gap with Australia, and stop the flow of people across the ditch. Instead they’ve not just massively increased the wage gap and the number of people fleeing the country, they’re now forcing our best and brightest out.
The incredible generosity of IHC workers
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, September 8th, 2011 - 8 comments
IHC workers won a lengthy court battle to have the work they do overnight (so-called ‘sleepover’ shifts) recognised as work worthy of the minimum wage. The $300m in backpay they were due would have bankrupted IHC. The government, so keen to bailout corporate mates, refused to help. Now, the workers have given us, taxpayers, a $200m break on their debt.
Those who don’t know history…
Written By: - Date published: 9:54 pm, September 6th, 2011 - 7 comments
Robert Reich writes about the impact of growing inequality in the United States. He has a graphic that shows the effects over the past hundred years. As the US and Europe come closer to their Niagara fall, the logic is compelling. Edmund Burke’s saying that those who don’t know their history are destined to repeat it comes to mind.
NRT: The effects of NeoLiberalism
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, September 6th, 2011 - 15 comments
The New York Times has a graphic comparing the outcomes of economic policy in the US, specifically comparing the broadly social democratic policies prevalent between 1847 and 1979, and the NeoLiberal policies since 1980. The differences are astounding.
In praise of collective bargaining
Written By: - Date published: 7:13 am, August 29th, 2011 - 75 comments
One of the lies at the heart of the Nats’ approach to industrial relations is that negotiating directly with the employer “empowers” the individual worker and allows them to get better wages and conditions. The facts prove otherwise.
Chart o’ the day: drop meet ocean
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, August 24th, 2011 - 17 comments
Labour’s awesome mining policy
Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, August 22nd, 2011 - 43 comments
Pike River had lax safety systems. Profits came first. The workforce was highly casualised to weaken the bargaining power of the union. The boss, Peter Whittall, will end up getting the blame. Labour says it will restore miners’ power over their safety by bringing back check inspectors. It’s now up to the Nats to explain why they won’t.
Economic cycle
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, August 20th, 2011 - 24 comments
Prime Minister John Key has reacted to growing fears that the world is slipping into a second round of financial crisis and recession before it has recovered from the first one by boldly opening a 180km cycleway through the King Country. Part of a $50m cycleway project, it is expected to boost the economy by $5-$20 quadrillion, according to the PM.
Bennett and Key at odds?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 19th, 2011 - 60 comments
Bennett and Key are divided in their opinions and their stats, but at least they’re united in their state of denial.
Bring back check inspectors
Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, August 18th, 2011 - 30 comments
Nats have announced 6 more DoL safety inspectors for mines and oil drilling. Up from 2 now (only one position filled). Sounds good but DoL’s failure at Pike River was systematic, not just about numbers. Where’s the stronger safety standards? Why aren’t they bringing back worker-elected check inspectors? The miners want them. Why don’t the Nats listen?
Nats: you didn’t have a job, you’re not really unemployed
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, August 18th, 2011 - 36 comments
In a desperate and heartless attempt to spin their way out of their awful record on jobs, National is getting surreal. First, there’s Bill English claiming that the job you used to have under Labour wasn’t a real job. Then, you’ve got John Key saying that you’re not really unemployed now. I guess it’s all in you imagination. Don’t look to National for help.
Epic fail
Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, August 16th, 2011 - 64 comments
Like most of us, Fran O’Sullivan was expecting so much more from the Nats at their conference…
Daddy State vs Youth
Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, August 15th, 2011 - 72 comments
National aim to score political points by attacking a small number of 16 and 17 year-olds, and taking away their autonomy. But they’re missing the real-world point – of the tens of thousands of young unemployed who need the jobs that National aren’t providing. That’s the real crisis.
Q+A interview – Key still lying
Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, August 15th, 2011 - 61 comments
A better than usual interview of John Key by Guyon Espiner on Sundays Q+A. On the plus side Espiner was raising some serious issues. On the minus he let Key get away with his usual lies and evasions.
Nats to deport slave-fishing witnesses
Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, August 12th, 2011 - 35 comments
An Auckland University study, “Not in our waters, surely?” was released last night. It details a gruesome list of human rights abuses, crimes, and breaches of labour law being carried out abroad the slave ships contracted by our quota-holders to harvest our fish. Now, the government is moving to deport the prime witnesses before they can testify.
Wealth creators or life-blood suckers?
Written By: - Date published: 12:40 pm, August 8th, 2011 - 38 comments
Study proves that our ‘wealth creators’ are actually bad managers. We have the natural resources. Got the skilled workforce. We’re held back by the capitalist elite. Not interested in capital investment and paying better wages. They’re just rentiers out to extract quick profits: a formula of low wages, tax cuts, and untaxed capital gains. Parasites.
End slavery in NZ, create 2,500 Kiwi jobs
Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, August 7th, 2011 - 25 comments
Next week, a report will reveal the abuse of 2,500 foreign workers used as virtual slaves on ships employed by kiwi fishing quota holders in our waters. By rights, we should have a world renowned fishing fleet. Instead, we let our potential go to waste and employ foreign slaveowners and human traffickers to do the work instead.
PSA launches myth busting campaign
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, August 2nd, 2011 - 57 comments
The PSA is launching its election campaign this evening. Our big challenge is to break through the government’s narrative (now reaching mythic proportions) that NZ is sinking under debt the likes of Greece tooand the only solution is to cut public spending and sell assets. As the well informed readers of The Standard know, NZ’s […]
Job cuts at CYF
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, July 20th, 2011 - 51 comments
Guest poster David Clark at Red Alert has broken news on job cuts at Child Youth and Family. Front line staff will go – yet another broken promise from National.
Reaction to Labour tax package
Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, July 15th, 2011 - 179 comments
The media have provided us with five people examples of people who will be affected in different ways by Labour’s tax package. Ordinary families win big and they know it. The vested interests moan and reveal the pure greed that underlies their worldview. Frankly, I think Labour will win support due to both who supports and who opposes its tax policy.
Economic Management
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, July 13th, 2011 - 34 comments
We can expect a lot of economic rhetoric in the lead up to November from our political leaders. What does history suggest with respect to two key economic indicators: production and employment?
This is why we have employment law
Written By: - Date published: 7:36 am, June 30th, 2011 - 61 comments
New Zealand Defence Force staff are not covered by employment law. Hundreds of them are being sacked, so as to get “more work out of fewer people”. If they’re “lucky” some of those cast aside might get civilian versions of their old jobs back, with huge pay cuts as a sweetener. Welcome to the epitome of National’s flexible labour market.
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