Posts Tagged ‘unite’

Zero integrity on zero hours

Written By: - Date published: 2:53 pm, August 21st, 2015 - 4 comments

If you thought the Nats promising to sort out zero hours contracts was too good to be true — you were right.

Labour takes a stand against zero-hour contracts

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 pm, February 12th, 2015 - 92 comments

Zero-hour contracts are the perfect illustration of when “flexibility” in employment relations goes all one way.

Christchurch workers

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 pm, September 6th, 2010 - 41 comments

Unite Union’s Christchurch office has been flooded with phone calls and text messages from worried workers in post-earthquake Christchurch.

McCarten not going down without a fight

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, September 5th, 2010 - 33 comments

Almost as an aside, Matt McCarten has announced that he has the “killing kind of cancer” in his column today. Matt is one of the lions of the Left. His union, Unite, has defied the skeptics to become a real success story. Temp and low-paid workers have found an avenue for collective action, and learnt they can win. Matt makes it clear he’ll never flinch from fighting for the workers. Good on ya, mate, we’re with you.

Key laughs off minimum wage earners

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, February 19th, 2010 - 15 comments

John Key’s recent stint at the Big Gay Out wasn’t all target marketing and niche political branding. He also had a run in with living-wage campaigners who took him to task for his government’s poor response to minimum wage earners and asked if he could live on the minimum wage.

No love for workers, no quarter from National

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, February 13th, 2010 - 13 comments

Protests are taking place around the country today against the National Government’s miserable 25 cent increase to the minimum wage.

Minimum wage increase, what will it be?

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, January 19th, 2010 - 22 comments

John Key has ruled out a $2.50 an hour pay increase for New Zealand’s lowest paid workers but won’t give any indication of what increase he does think is right. He claims that an increase to $15 an hour would cost jobs. I would love to see the advice he got on that. Anyhow, Employers […]

$15 min wage march tonight

Written By: - Date published: 11:36 am, October 30th, 2009 - 15 comments

The Campaign for a Living Wage will be taking to the streets of Auckland’s CBD tonight to demand a minimum wage of 15 dollars an hour and an end to poverty wages. The theme is Halloween trick or treat. If you want, you can dress up as: (a) a Zombie worker who has awoken from […]

$15 minimum wage, it’s only fair

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, October 29th, 2009 - 4 comments

The campaign for a $15 an hour minimum wage is gathering pace. Initially, Unite kind of set out on their own on this one but I understand they’ve got other unions on boards now. They need a bit over 300,000 signatures to force the government to hold a referendum. They’ve got until May 7, just […]

Synovate lockout lifted

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, April 15th, 2009 - 18 comments

Indymedia reports that the lockout at research company Synovate has been lifted and a settlement has been reached: Late last night, union and company negotiators reached a settlement at the Department of Labour. Pay rises will be 50c now and 50c in 6 months. People will get paid for stat. holidays over the lock-out. And […]

Employer opposes wage increases – shock!

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, February 11th, 2009 - 33 comments

Yesterday I expressed concern about Unite’s referendum on indexing the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage on practical grounds while strongly supporting the idea in principle. Today in its editorial the Herald takes exception to the principle, complaining that such a move, even phased in over a three year period, would deny people […]

On the minimum wage referendum

Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, February 10th, 2009 - 46 comments

The Unite Union has reacted to the Government’s miserly adjustment to the minimum wage by initiating a referendum on tying the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage. The principle behind the referendum is a good one. Indexing the minimum wage to 66% would be a huge step towards making sure our lowest paid […]

Have the police been inciting?

Written By: - Date published: 12:04 pm, December 21st, 2008 - 52 comments

There is a slowly emerging twist in police spy scandal. The question of incitement and provocation from an agent of the police. Bearing in mind that it is an obvious escalation of paying people embedded deep in any activist organisation, it is something that an agent’s handlers should have been aware of and taken steps […]

Police spied on Unite Union too

Written By: - Date published: 3:09 pm, December 18th, 2008 - 42 comments

Matt McCarten, head of the Unite Union, has just released emails showing police informant Rob Gilchrist gave the police spy unit details about activities being organised by the union as part of their push to abolish youth pay rates and increase the minimum wage. ‘These emails give lie to the police claim that only potential […]

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