wages

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Nats break into your piggy-bank

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 3:42 pm, October 8th, 2008 - 61 comments

John Key has announced that Kiwisaver would be slashed along with National’s tax cuts for the rich (and they are tax cuts for the rich, while most people would get less than under Labour’s plan, under National’s plan by 2011 around half a billion a year more than under Labour’s plan would be going to […]

Will Labour back $15 minimum wage?

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 7th, 2008 - 45 comments

The unions want the minimum wage lifted to $15 an hour, two thirds of the average hourly rate, restoring the historic ratio. The Greens, New Zealand First, The Progressives (I think), the Maori Party* and, oddly, the Kiwi Party are also calling for $15 an hour. Will Labour join them? Labour has an excellent record on the […]

CTU on closing the wage gap

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 4:20 pm, October 3rd, 2008 - 4 comments

The Council of Trade Unions has done a lot of work on why wages are low for many workers in New Zealand and how they can be increased to close the wage gap with Australia. They offer six proposals: Increase the minimum wage to at least $15 per/hour We know from the painful experience of […]

Wage gap decreasing thanks to pro-worker policies

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 12:05 pm, October 3rd, 2008 - 36 comments

As The Standard first reported on April 1 and Radio New Zealand picked up today, Treasury figures show that the wage gap between Australia and New Zealand increased 50% under National in the 1990s and has decreased moderately under Labour since then. Now, a lot of our readers simply won’t want to believe that […]

Go the drivers

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 8:24 am, September 24th, 2008 - 115 comments

Wellington bus drivers are striking this morning and good on them. I was happy to find my own way to work today. The company, GO Wellington, is claiming the drivers claim of 12% is too much in “these economic times” But talk of percentages is nothing but a red herring when the basic truth is […]

Questioning politicians

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 9:36 am, September 22nd, 2008 - 16 comments

We’re keen to help you get active this election campaign. That’s why we’ve launched Campaign Hub 2008 and its Facebook group to give you info, access to materials, and tips on campaigning. It’s great to see so many people have downloaded leaflets and posters from the Hub or clicked through to Vote With Both Eyes […]

Greens good for workers

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 8:20 am, September 18th, 2008 - 75 comments

Work rights should be a big issue this election. National is proposing to strip workers of their rights to undermine wage increases. The Greens’ work rights policy, on the other hand, rocks. – Lift the minimum wage from $12 an hour to $15 an hour immediately. That will restore the minimum wage relative to the […]

Disappointing

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 9:33 am, September 15th, 2008 - 79 comments

I just have to say, it’s incredibly disappointing that a simple prank, a google bomb, gets three newspaper articles and coverage on TV3 and when talkback radio suggests The Standard was tipped off on the election date that is an issue worth following up with the PM. But when John Key is quoted in a […]

National bleats about wages, still has no solutions

Written By: Tane - Date published: 1:35 pm, September 5th, 2008 - 18 comments

The National Party are once again trying to make political capital over the Trans-Tasman wage gap, even though they created it in the first place and have no policy to fix it. Like I’ve pointed out a dozen times before: 1. Yes, we have a wage gap with Australia and it needs to close. 2. […]

Market failure

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 8:11 am, September 5th, 2008 - 27 comments

An article on Stuff today shows “Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale”. It’s based on research by Dr. Jamie Pearce and indicates that those who live in poor areas are more likely to die early than those in wealthy areas. Dr Pearce said the changing social and political environment disadvantaged poor people […]

Social Report shows Kiwis better off

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 12:30 pm, August 28th, 2008 - 31 comments

MSD released its Social Report today, an annual publication that collates a wide variety of standard of living measures, and produces this awesome graph. The circle represents the status quo in 1995-97 each spoke represents a different measure (income, crimes per capita etc). If the spoke is longer than the circle than the measure has improved between 1995-97 […]

Workers demand decent work rights policies

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 9:54 am, August 28th, 2008 - 24 comments

6000 workers turned out in Manukau yesterday for the EPMU’s Wages Drive rally. With 25 events nation-wide over this month, which have attracted crowds from several hundred in little old Blenhiem to thousands in each of the cities, this is the largest series of political rallies in New Zealand this parliamentary term. The EPMU reports […]

Did you say “wages”, John?

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 2:07 pm, August 20th, 2008 - 62 comments

Watching Key on Breakfast this morning I was surprised to see him talking about the need for higher wages (about two thirds of the way through). That’s nice to hear but given National’s policy is to reduce work rights and make it harder for working Kiwis to negotiate a better deal it seems a bit […]

Academic, youse are paid too much

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 3:30 pm, August 7th, 2008 - 42 comments

Professor John Gibson from Waikato University says public servants should be paid less because they get paid more than their private sector equivalents and they enjoy their work. First, I would be highly suspicious the methodology of any study that claims to compare like with like between the public and private sector. How many police […]

Employment, wages up

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 3:27 pm, August 4th, 2008 - 43 comments

Despite the economic slowdown, the labour market is holding up well and wages are up at the record rate. The average hourly wage is now $24, up from $21.90 an hour 2 years ago. That’s a 9.6% increase. Take away 6.1% inflation and the average Kiwi worker is still 3.5% better off than two years […]

Workers stand up for their rights, Nats still evasive

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 4:04 pm, August 1st, 2008 - 48 comments

The EPMU launched its ‘Work Rights Wage Drive’ today with a rally in Christchurch. Despite the rain, over 1500 Kiwi workers turned out to stand up for their work rights and wages. This is just the first of 25 rallies the EPMU will be undertaking this month, in what will easily be the biggest series […]

Lucky Aussies, they kept their work rights

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 2:12 pm, July 31st, 2008 - 62 comments

Some of our friends on the Right have been putting themselves through strange mental contortions over the recent series of posts we’ve had on the impact of National and the Left on wages. To recap: we’ve shown that National let the minimum wage stagnate while inflation ate its buying power, the Labour-led Governments have increased it, […]

Larger slice of the cake for workers under Labour

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 6:46 am, July 30th, 2008 - 46 comments

The essential debate in New Zealand politics (and all capitalist economies) is between Right and Left over how big a share of the economy’s production should go to the workers who produce it (ie wages, salaries) and how much should go to the capitalists who invested in the means of production (ie dividends, interest). The […]

Does anyone care about the gender wage gap?

Written By: Dancer - Date published: 3:22 pm, July 29th, 2008 - 38 comments

I recently caught a story on the radio about the gender wage gap of new graduates – and in the failed search to locate it came across some other related stories. As we head into an election campaign with political parties offering up their solutions for the future I had to ask myself – does anyone […]

Fact: The Left has risen wages during its time in power

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 10:51 am, July 29th, 2008 - 27 comments

Inevitably, reaction from some to the post showing incomes fell 6.1% under National between 1990 and 1997 has not been horror at the fact the incomes of Kiwis went down but ‘so, I bet the Labour-led Governments haven’t done better’. Bet again. The median income in 2007 was 32% higher than the median income was […]

Fact: Nats cut wages last time they were in power

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 6:12 am, July 29th, 2008 - 34 comments

For anyone who still doesn’t want to believe that National cut incomes for most Kiwis last time they were in power (and would do so again). Here’s something I came across in an incomes report from 1998: The median income earner was 6% poorer in after-inflation after 7 years of National government. That didn’t happen by […]

Seeking better work rights

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 1:51 pm, July 25th, 2008 - 10 comments

Seek has released analysis of the pay-rates offered by employers advertising on its site. It’s not a perfect measure and the figures are for the last quarter of 2007 but they still make illuminating reading. The average salary rose from $55,583 to $57,664 in the quarter but low-skilled pay-rates went backwards. Kitchen staff from $29,625 […]

Reaction roundup: Nats’ work rights policy

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 11:14 am, July 25th, 2008 - 39 comments

Democratic, voluntary organisations of workers: Finsec: “Within the current framework, many workers have been able to achieve real wage increases like the 5% increase from Westpac our members have been offered this week…These pay rises have come as a result of staff being able to bargain collectively through their own independent union. National’s policies undermining […]

False idol

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 6:38 am, July 19th, 2008 - 30 comments

We’ve said this before but, seeing as BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander is in the Herald this morning saying ‘the October 1 tax cuts won’t cover inflation’, it’s worth restating: tax cuts are not and can not be the method by which people’s incomes are risen for inflation. Tax cuts cannot be cut year on […]

Key comes out against wage increases

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 2:27 pm, July 16th, 2008 - 25 comments

This morning on Sunrise, John Key said “wage inflation” is a problem causing inflation and needs to be reduced. Wage inflation is a businessman’s way of saying pay increases. John Key opposes Kiwis getting the pay increases they need to cover the rising cost of living. This fits with his statement that “we would love […]

The right incentives?

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 12:06 pm, July 7th, 2008 - 25 comments

National tells us that, if we put the right incentives in place, people will work harder and their incomes will go up. National opposes the 39 cent tax bracket because they argue people would be incentivised to work more and earn more if incomes over $60K were taxed 6 cents in the dollar lower. They […]

Bill to protect workers from labour-hire vultures

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 1:44 pm, June 24th, 2008 - 105 comments

Labour, with the support of New Zealand First, has developed a bill based on Darien Fenton’s private members’ bill that will ensure tens of thousands of workers are no longer ripped off by ‘triangular employment’ situations, whereby their effective employer contracts out the actual employment of staff to a labour hire company. It works like […]

The grass isn’t greener across the ditch

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 12:05 pm, June 23rd, 2008 - 72 comments

The cornerstone of National’s ‘New Zealand sucks’ campaign is that Australia is much better (and we have to lower taxes and slash work rights to catch up). Now, the Sunday-Star Times produced a well-researched article on standards of living here and in Australia. A year late, but good to see, nonetheless. The conclusions: Your tax […]

Act now to protect workers’ wages

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 11:40 am, June 19th, 2008 - 55 comments

Times are going to get harder for workers in the next few years. Unemployment is set to rise to 4.5-6% (still well under 1990s levels). The wages of those who keep their jobs won’t rise as fast. At the same time, prices are rising faster, particularly petrol. What […]

Slippery John’s “after-tax incomes” line

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 10:29 am, June 18th, 2008 - 33 comments

You’ll have noticed that Key only ever talks about increasing ‘after-tax incomes’. Even when he’s asked about wages for government employees, like doctors, he responds that National would increase their after-tax incomes with tax cuts, not by increasing their wages. But anybody can see that cutting taxes is only a short-term way to slightly increase […]

The wage gap and the Nats’ crediblity gap

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 5:01 pm, June 12th, 2008 - 32 comments

Remember when National was all about the wage gap, whinging about it every day? Heard them talk about it lately? The last mention we can find is three weeks ago. Has the issue suddenly gone away? No, there is still a wage gap and solutions to it require serious debate. But National wasn’t talking about […]