Posts Tagged ‘workers’ rights’
Minimum wage rises good for workers
Written By: - Date published: 1:31 pm, December 18th, 2007 - 43 comments
Reports suggest that the government is set to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour. Coming toward the start of 2008, this would mark the ninth rise in as many years. When it comes to income, one trick ponies John Key and National would like you to believe that the only thing that counts […]
Progress on new superunion
Written By: - Date published: 11:52 am, December 18th, 2007 - 33 comments
The NZ Herald reports the Service and Food Workers Union, the National Distribution Union and Unite have agreed in principle to merge into a new super-union. The new union will represent some of the lowest paid workers in the country such as cleaners, checkout operators, fast food workers and factory process workers, and encompasses three […]
National and the wage gap
Written By: - Date published: 2:24 pm, December 13th, 2007 - 74 comments
I see National’s complaining about the wage gap between New Zealand and Australia again. As usual they have no answers on what to do about it other than to blindly hope that tax cuts for the rich will lead to economic growth and somehow it’ll all trickle down into the ordinary worker’s pay packet. Ever […]
Petty politicking and the Xinyao tragedy
Written By: - Date published: 5:21 pm, December 10th, 2007 - 81 comments
Reuters reports that the death toll from China’s Xinyao mine tragedy has now surpassed the 100 mark after 50 rescue workers were sent in without training and never resurfaced. According to Chinese media the cause of the tragedy was the mine management’s failure to install a gas detection system and its storage of explosives in […]
Prats in the Nats on China’s miners
Written By: - Date published: 5:52 pm, November 15th, 2007 - 26 comments
How’s this for small-minded prejudice from National Party backbencher Kate Wilkinson in a press release today complaining about the $84,000 dollars for a Labour Dept to help provide health and safety training for Chinese coal miners: Ms Wilkinson says Kiwi taxpayers will clearly be surprised to learn that the New Zealand Government is effectively subsidising […]
Laila on unions
Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, November 12th, 2007 - Comments Off on Laila on unions
Laila Harre’s Bruce Jesson Memorial Lecture is now available in full over at Scoop. It’s titled Union Relevance in Aotearoa in the 21st Century, and while it’s nothing new to those of us in the movement it provides a good overview of the challenges unions face in rebuilding from the devastation wrought in the 1990s […]
National’s hoax on unemployed workers
Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, November 12th, 2007 - 41 comments
Last week Stats NZ announced unemployment had dropped to a record low of just 3.5%, after reaching double-digit figures under National in the 90s. That reminded me of an old press release from Bill English just before the 1999 election where he called unemployment in the range of 3% “a hoax” and suggested 6% might […]
2008’s big issue?
Written By: - Date published: 12:47 pm, November 2nd, 2007 - 41 comments
An interesting piece in yesterday’s Molesworth and Featherston (off line): Labour will pick a fight over workplace law reform. Trevor Mallard is in there to promote a message of ‘higher wages through better industrial law’ along with a scare campaign that says National will cut pay and conditions. Now we’ve been saying work rights are […]
But what about wages?
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, November 2nd, 2007 - 8 comments
NZCTU economist Peter Conway makes a good point about National’s spin in his latest Economic Bulletin. After highlighting the shonky statistics behind the party’s attempts to inoculate the 1990s with its “Joanna Average” story, he goes on to point out how disingenuous the party is being in its pitch: The disturbing part of all this […]
Labour: who’s gonna get it?
Written By: - Date published: 8:33 pm, October 30th, 2007 - 30 comments
Coming into an election when work rights is going to be a major issue, we’ve heard Ruth Dyson will be relinquishing her labour portfolio tomorrow. The big question is who’s going to pick it up? Across the ditch work rights has become the defining issue of the upcoming election and given National’s desperate attempts to […]
What have the unions ever done for us?
Written By: - Date published: 2:49 pm, October 25th, 2007 - 6 comments
(Hat tip: Robert Owen – via comments)
National: it’s not worth the pay cut
Written By: - Date published: 1:46 pm, October 19th, 2007 - 58 comments
The National Party are clearly worried. They’ve done pretty well so far with the populist rallying cry of tax cuts, but they always knew their record on wages would come up at some point. Because as National themselves are fully aware, while tax cuts might on the face of it put more money into workers’ […]
First woman CTU president
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 pm, October 17th, 2007 - 2 comments
Congratulations to Helen Kelly, the first woman to lead the Council of Trade Unions. Helen replaces Ross Wilson, who’s been CTU President since 1999 (and who must now go on to head the ACC surely?), and together with Secretary Carol Beaumont and Maori Vice Pres Sharon Claire present a formidable trio at the apex of […]
Aussie workers worse off under Howard
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, October 17th, 2007 - 47 comments
A new report (PDF) by the University of Sydney shows Aussie workers are doing markedly worse under a Howard government. His desperate bid to buy them back this week with the offer of tax cuts doesn’t address the deep unfairness they’re being subjected to by his doublespeak-ish “Work Choices” legislation. The Australia@Work study, published this […]
National’s cynical attack on disabled workers
Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, October 10th, 2007 - 7 comments
History tells us the Nats will use any excuse they can to undermine people’s work rights, but this is low even for them. Desperate for an angle to oppose the extension of minimum wage rights to disabled workers, National hit on an idea: argue that paying disabled workers the legal minimum is actually bad for […]
Port strike
Written By: - Date published: 10:33 am, October 3rd, 2007 - 2 comments
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, the Ports of Auckland have been ground to a halt by strike action from 250 members of the Maritime Union. These guys are on as little as $13 an hour and have had their pay negotiations stalled by the company for nearly a year, so you can hardly blame them […]
NDU, SFWU and Unite to form super-union
Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, September 26th, 2007 - 9 comments
I was wondering when this was going to break. From Molesworth and Featherston this morning (offline, subscription only): Two private-sector unions are poised to join forces, potentially creating a major new force in industrial relations. Sources say that the Service and Food Workers’ Union and the National Distribution Union reached a heads-of-agreement last week over […]
Subway cheese conspiracy
Written By: - Date published: 10:46 am, September 21st, 2007 - 1 comment
Some of you might remember an incident at Subway in Dunedin earlier this year. A young woman who worked there was fired in after management accused her of stealing a free staff drink after she shared it with her friend. They had her arrested and charged with theft. The news traveled widely, there was a […]
Unite ends youth rates at McDonalds
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, September 12th, 2007 - Comments Off on Unite ends youth rates at McDonalds
Congratulations to Unite for ending youth rates at McDonalds. Not that you’ll get that story from the media coverage, which gives the impression McDonald’s just decided to give up youth rates to be nice and fails to even mention the role of union campaigns like Supersize My Pay, Youth Rates Suck or Endyouthratesnow. Is it […]
Fairer pay for youth workers
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, September 6th, 2007 - Comments Off on Fairer pay for youth workers
The Herald has the story: Workers aged 16 and 17 will earn the adult minimum wage once they have been in the job three months or worked 200 hours under a law change yesterday. Currently, those under 18 must be paid 80 per cent of the adult minimum wage. But that will change from April […]
He’s whatever you want him to be – except if you’re a worker
Written By: - Date published: 2:39 pm, September 5th, 2007 - Comments Off on He’s whatever you want him to be – except if you’re a worker
John Key’s swallowed a lot of rats to make National look electable: nuclear free, war in Iraq, fighter jets, paid parental leave, climate change etc,etc. But you can always trust a Tory to stay true to type over the one thing that they care about more than anything – cutting workers’ pay and conditions. It’s […]
Stood up, fought back
Written By: - Date published: 12:04 am, September 4th, 2007 - 1 comment
The National Distribution Union‘s put a together a bit of a clip showing some of the struggles its members have been through over the past year. And what a year it’s been. Faced with a month-long supermarket lockout, an attempt by National to strip them of their work rights, the collapse of Feltex and two […]
Gateway Hotel workers still standing strong
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, August 29th, 2007 - Comments Off on Gateway Hotel workers still standing strong
Just got these photos in from the picket line at the Airport Gateway Hotel in Auckland, where a dozen low-paid staff have now been locked out for nearly a month for wanting a collective agreement. As you can see from the photos they’re still in high spirits, but after a month without pay they need […]
Trouble at the Gateway Hotel
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, August 24th, 2007 - 3 comments
One of the worrying trends in industrial relations in recent times has been employers’ rediscovery of the lockout as a tool to break the power of organised labour and drive down wages. This is an extreme weapon, designed to starve the workforce into submitting to mangement’s demands, and is based on the brutal logic that […]
- Gang patch ban: ‘Subtle adaptations’ of insignia already being seen
Gang members are already changing their insignia to get around the law that came into effect overnight. ...3 days ago - Bootcamp bill to have first reading before verdict on 10-boy pilot project
The Govt’s bootcamp bill will have its first reading on Thursday, ahead of a final evaluation of the controversial pilot programme. The post Bootcamp bill to have first reading before verdict on 10-boy pilot project appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago - Where to find $1.3 trillion for climate finance
Fossil fuel subsidies, solidarity levies and wealth taxes have all been proposed as sources of the trillions of dollars of climate finance needed The post Where to find $1.3 trillion for climate finance appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- It’s not too late to halt the death spiral of New Zealand’s public health system
It’s a shambles of our own making, but it’s still one we can turn around, argues health sector expert Dr David Galler. Trust and confidence in the public health system is at an all-time low. Not a day goes by without another story highlighting its alleged failings, eroding what little ...3 days ago - The gang patch ban is now in force. What’s going to happen?
From today, police can enforce new gang legislation, including a ban on insignia being displayed in public. Here’s what you need to know. Why are we talking about this again? I thought it came in ages ago. The Gangs Act 2024 and Sentencing Amendment Act 2024 did indeed become law ...3 days ago
- Urban fringe precincts give city centres a run for their money
Making way for future growth doesn’t have to – and likely won’t – take place in existing city centres, says a company developing significant office space on Auckland’s Southern Corridor.Unlisted commercial property fund manager Oyster Property Group and global investment firm KKR purchased the Central Park office park in Auckland’s ...3 days ago
- Book of the Week: How to honour te Tiriti
The newly published Te Tiriti o Waitangi Relationships: People, Politics and Law is the third of a Bridget Williams Books series which started with a 2004 volume on the Waitangi Tribunal, and was followed by a collection on Treaty settlements in 2012. Its intention is to present what “leading scholars ...3 days ago
- Kinleith Mill’s troubles highlight industry’s ‘long slow burn’
Commodity manufacturers are at risk when their products can be made cheaper overseas The post Kinleith Mill’s troubles highlight industry’s ‘long slow burn’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- The case for juries
New Zealand will find out early next year if the Government will decrease the number of jury trials in a bid to speed up the court system.Currently, defendants can choose to face a jury – rather than a judge alone – when charged with a criminal offence carrying a maximum ...3 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 21 November
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 21 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- National desperately needs to nullify Act’s Treaty bill
The Prime Minister cannot afford to be seen getting bogged down and taken over by Act on the Treaty Principles Bill The post National desperately needs to nullify Act’s Treaty bill appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Daily crossword, Thursday 21 November
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- NZ downgraded in global climate rankings
New Zealand has dropped seven places to 41st in the global Climate Change Performance Index, which ranks countries based on their emissions, deployment of renewable electricity, overall energy use and climate policy.The announcement of the latest update to the index, which has been running since 2005 and is considered an ...3 days ago
- Police research adds to evidence against gang patch ban
As Te Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti gathered at Wellington’s Waitangi Park on the waterfront on Tuesday morning, the MC welcomed “brothers of the patched world and sisters of the patched world”.He told the Māori members of the crowd that their whakapapa – carried through tā moko – survived on the ...3 days ago
- Young families are leaving many large US cities − here’s why that matters
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Biswa Das, Associate Professor of Community and Regional Planning and Extension Economist, Iowa State University Parents and educators rally at Boston City Hall demanding urgent action to improve the city’s public schools. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Young families ...3 days ago - Australia’s $230 billion Future Fund encouraged to invest in housing, energy transition, infrastru...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has rewritten the mandate of the Future Fund – the nation’s sovereign wealth fund – to urge it to direct investment into the “national priorities” of housing, the energy transition and infrastructure, ...3 days ago
- Third Reading Of Samoa Citizenship Bill In New Zealand Parliament Today
Explainer - New Zealand's Parliament will, on Wednesday, hear the third and final reading of a bill that will, if passed, restore a pathway for citizenship to a group of Samoans stripped of it decades ago. ...3 days ago - Christopher Luxon Says ‘No Need To Meet’ With Hīkoi At Parliament
The Prime Minister says organisers were "closely aligned" with Te Pāti Māori, but acknowledged it was "a significant day". ...3 days ago
- ‘685’s to the world:’ Restoring Citizenship Bill passes with unanimous support
Greens MP Teanau Tuiono says it's "a significant step for Pasifika justice here in Aotearoa and around the Pacific". ...3 days ago
- What is methanol? How does it get into drinks and cause harm?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide cdrin/Shutterstock Two Australian teenagers are severely ill in hospital in Thailand after experiencing suspected methanol poisoning while they were travelling in Laos. The pair are reportedly among several foreign nationals to become ...3 days ago
- Politics with Michelle Grattan: Special Minister of State Don Farrell on getting ‘big money’ out...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government says it will take “big money” out of election campaigns – or, more realistically, curb it – with its legislation imposing donation and spending caps and real-time disclosure. But crossbenchers and other ...3 days ago
- The hīkoi and Parliament: A photo essay
The House - Parliament protests run the gamut between solo vigils and a few thousand with amplified speeches. The hīkoi was an entirely new category. ...3 days ago
- Why NZ is protesting over colonial-era treaty bill – a global perspective
An overview for our international readers of Asia Pacific Report. BACKGROUNDER: By Sarah Shamim A fight for Māori indigenous rights drew more than 50,000 protesters to the New Zealand Parliament in the capital Wellington yesterday. A nine-day-long Hīkoi, or peaceful march — a Māori tradition — was undertaken in protest ...4 days ago
- The NT and ACT might have small populations but their economies are growing faster than the bigger s...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra sweettoiletpaper/Shutterstock The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory have won bragging rights for having the fastest growing economies within Australia. Their growth was highlighted in annual data ...4 days ago
- NZ chips in $10m from existing funds to pay for climate losses
It will help pay for losses suffered by poorer countries because of climate change. ...4 days ago
- New law gives up to 3,480 Samoan elders back their right to NZ citizenship
The Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill has passed its third and final reading. The bill’s author reflects on what it means for the Samoan community. It’s rare for MPs across the political spectrum to unite behind a piece of legislation. Rarer still is for an opposition MP’s bill to ...4 days ago
- Gang patch ban: Senior Black Power member concerned about impact on families
"What people wear is not the issue," one Black Power member told RNZ. ...4 days ago
- Budget update will revise down company tax receipts but treasurer Chalmers welcomes economy’s ‘s...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next month’s federal budget update is expected to revise down company tax receipts for the first time since 2020, amid continued low economic growth in the near term. In his Wednesday ministerial statement on ...4 days ago
- Schoolies means more drink spiking warnings. Why is the burden still on women to stay safe?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Ison, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director, Reducing Gender-Based Violence Research Group, La Trobe University, La Trobe University Christian Bertrand/Shutterstock Schoolies season is here – and with it, warnings about staying safe while partying. For girls and women, this often means ...4 days ago
- Speaker’s handling of hīkoi ‘overkill’ – Te Paati Māori
Staff were locked from being able give water to protesters, and wifi access was blocked too, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said. ...4 days ago
- Richard Chambers announced as new Police Commissioner
Richard Chambers is replacing outgoing commissioner Andrew Coster. ...4 days ago
- Richard Chambers to be announced as new Police Commissioner
Richard Chambers is replacing outgoing commissioner Andrew Coster. ...4 days ago
- Government designates Hezbollah as terrorist entity
The government has also slapped a similar designation on the Houthi movement. ...4 days ago
- Cost of road cones, temporary speed limits ‘eyewatering’ – Transport Minister
Simeon Brown had previously raised concerns over the cost of road cones and temporary speed limits, asking the ministry to look into it. ...4 days ago
- 10 years after the Lacrosse building cladding fire, the defects and disasters continue
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trivess Moore, Associate Professor, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Metropolitan Fire Brigade, CC BY Ten years ago, a late-night cigarette started a fire that spread rapidly up 13 storeys on the Lacrosse apartment building in Melbourne. The ...4 days ago
- What is premenstrual dysphoric disorder? And how is it different to PMS?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eveline Mu, Research Fellow in Women’s Mental Health, Monash University Austin Guevara/Pexels Periods can feel like an unwanted guest for many women and gender diverse people who menstruate, bringing cramps, mood swings and exhaustion. But how do you know ...4 days ago
- Bill would ‘render the treaty worthless’ – world reacts to national Hīkoi
RNZ News International media coverage of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national Hīkoi to Parliament has largely focused on the historic size of the turnout in Wellington yesterday and the wider contention between Māori and the Crown. Some, including The New York Times, have also pointed out the recent swing right with ...4 days ago
- PPTA Urges Government To Act For Children In War Zones
Children are our future and have the right to access education wherever they live. We must do everything we can to uphold this fundamental human right. ...4 days ago
- ‘I’ll try any synonym under the sun’: Jacqueline Bublitz’s crimes against language
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits of Aotearoa writers, and guests. This week: Jacqueline Bublitz, author of new crime novel Leave the Girls Behind. The book I wish I’d written I was so impressed by the big reveal in All the Colours ...4 days ago
- Financial forms of family violence affect 1 in 7 New Zealanders – but the law is lagging
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ayesha Scott, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, AUT Business School, Auckland University of Technology and Senior Lecturer in Finance & Financial Planning, Griffith University Economic harm – restricting access to, sabotaging or exploiting another person’s financial resources, and impeding their economic autonomy – is ...4 days ago
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